gems about jewels

Academy Awards Jewelry - Cuffs

2012-02-27T15:38:00.000-05:00

There were so many beautiful jewels on the red carpet last night along with a few trends and some very special pieces. First...diamond cuffs and wide diamond bracelets.

Do you think photographers don't remove the stunned background humans on purpose as a way to get back at celebrities for being such assholes. Could this woman possibly think this was her photo op? Regardless, you know right now she's wishing she spent that extra time at the gym.

Gwyneth wears Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie Hearts of Winter cuffbracelet made of 2,368 rose-cut, round brilliant diamonds weighing 163 caratsand valued at $1 million; and the double hoop Duchess Hibiscus Ring made ofrose cut and round diamonds with purple sapphires set in 18-karat white goldand valued at $160,000. Ahhhmaazing.

Viola Davis looked lovely, if not a little "from the valley of the jolly....ho, ho, ho, " in Vera Wang and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry.

Viola recycling Lorraine Schwartz's wide champagne and white diamond cuff. It seems to be the "go to" bracelet because it has also been worn by Taylor Swift and Ashley Green at events earlier in the year. See below...

Taylor Swift - not making an odd face for a change.

Ashley Green - not sure who she is but she nailed the look.

Penelope Ann Miller from "The Artist" wears a rare three-carat pink radiant diamond ring, surrounded by pink and white diamonds; an art-deco 24-carat diamond encrusted cuff bracelet; and 11-carat halo drop diamond earrings, all from Blue Nile. Blue Nile is one of the best on-line resources for diamond knowledge.

These are Kristin Wiig's hands showing off three wide platinum and diamond bracelets along with a platinum, emerald, ruby and diamond ring by Neil Lane. Since she usually wears flesh-tone on the red carpet she should have lost that dark nail polish. Every time I see a woman wearing it I know her nails are skoovatch underneath.

Nina Garcia from "Project Runway" wearing a vintage Fred Leighton platinum ring set with a 14 carat rose cut diamond and a 1950's platinum bracelet.

Miss Piggy, also wearing Fred Leighton. Oh... wait, is that a nipple slip?

PBS And Their Dasterdly "Downton Abbey" Deed

2012-01-27T22:29:00.000-05:00

If you are like many people in America right now, you have been sucked into the Downton Abbey" vortex on Sunday nights. My Sunday night television obsession has gone from the depths of the Real Housewives of Wherever to the current highbrow Downton Abbey, and directly following, "Sherlock". Now I feel very intelligent when I watch TV on Sunday night instead of the goober I used to feel like when I watched the housewives.

But PBS has recently come under fire for selling a collection of jewelry based on Downton Abbey on their website. They are under fire not because as some have said, the collection is tacky, but because they did it without informing the shows creator. See for yourself...

A replica of a cameo from the show. Cameos were very popular in the early 20th century. Typically carved in shell, cameos were also carved in gemstones like agate, onyx and sardonyx.

Pearls were often used in jewelry during the Victorian and Edwardian age. They were small and natural, (unlike these Downton Abbey replicas which are faux).

Downton Abbey's Crawley women.
This is what women looked like before Gloria Steinem, masters degrees, the gym, wine and Starbucks.

The girls and their pearls. Here are the ladies and some of their PBS knock-offs.
Some felt the tea set (shown in the bottom right corner) was particularly heinous.

So really, what is all the fuss about? Did Willow or Patrick at PBS get a little too aggressive when brainstorming beg-a-thon ideas? PBS stuck their neck out in an effort to raise funds and with all the cutbacks in contributions, if they don't stay on their toes, they will go dark...and that would be bad.

It's a shame PBS had to pull the jewelry off their website. Had they collaborated with the shows creator from the beginning, together they could have spawned a new trend in clothing and jewelry. Yes people, women now want the clothes too - especially the blouses.

Come on...who would you rather see in pearls?

Jewelry at the 2012 Golden Globes

2012-01-16T21:04:00.007-05:00

Here's some of the fantastic jewelry from last night's Golden Globe's award show. If your name was Fred or Lorraine, you were more important than the friggin' award's...

Looking a little like a Q-tip tinged with a drop of blood, Angelina looked so bored I wondered why she even showed up. Scarecrow...I'll miss you most of all.


Then... I saw these. Lorraine Schwartz's 25 total carat weight round diamond earrings. You can't even call them studs. Each diamond weighs a whopping 12.5 carats. I hope Angelina is comfortable about where these diamonds came from... like not her daughter's backyard.

Julianna Margulies wearing Lorraine Schwartz's amazing green jade and diamond double drop earrings.

Julianna Margulies. The mistress of simplicity and the opposite color wheel.
She always gets it right... and, as a bonus, you get a smile.


Beautiful Freida Pinto wore a Chopard necklace made with 145 carats of yellow diamonds and 1705 micro pave diamonds. The necklace was important enough to come with it's own bodyguard...Freida, not so much.

Elle Macpherson looking a little wrinkly in her Lorraine Schwartz bangles.

I find Julianne Moore incredibly annoying...however, her Fred Leighton emerald earrings are not.
She has redeemed herself in my eyes... for the moment.

Heidi Klum wearing early Lorraine - back when she knew Wilma.

I thought Kate Beckinsdale was probably as close to perfection as they came.
Lorraine Schwartz diamond duster earrings complimented her outrageous hair.

Jessica Alba (who is she...what did she do)...was actually a close tie (in my opinion) to best dressed.
Especially with these 37 carat Bulgari diamond earrings.

I am only showing Reese Witherspoon's Fred Leighton arm because the rest of her was...what? Questionable? Some say she looked like an extra pound had been applied equally around her normally near perfect body? So hoo keyhas? Jewels by Fred.

This is one of Sophia Vagara's most famous features on which rests the most amazing Harry Winston diamond cuffs.
Need I say anymore.

This is Madonna. Remember her? Please tell me...what was with the glove?

Tilda Swinton's jewels by Fred Leighton...

Tilda Swinton's hair by Woodstock.

There is nothing like a Dame...Dame Helen Mirren in 1950's Fred Leighton's diamond and sapphire earrings.

Glenn Close wearing Wilfredo Rosado's 32 carat sapphire and diamond earrings.
Glenn is obsessed with Albert Nobbs as she is still in make-up.

End Of The Year Wrap Up

2012-01-04T21:08:00.007-05:00

It's been a pretty interesting year in jewelry, fashion and human observation in general. Here are some of the highlights...

I started off my blog with the one of the most awaited events in a long time: the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Evoking only the best memories of Princess Diana, I felt as if she was happily observing their every move. And who could be lovelier and skinnier than Kate. Her choice of jewels, fashion, and protruding clavicle is on par, but not greater than Diana's was, just like a good daughter-in-law should be: skinny enough so all your friends are envious, but not skinnier than you. You know Di would have approved.

Oprah...pretending to look interested.

We said goodbye to Oprah this year...thank God. I was really getting tired of her solving the problems of the world. I think I'm not alone as we all witnessed her new project, OWN, not realize the same level of success as her show. Oprah...please just go away and spend your OWN money.

And who knew so many people were interested in Paula Deen's diamonds? Next to Kim Kardashian, Paula Deen was the most popular blog I wrote. I don't know if it's her diamond rings or that she condones the use of huge amounts of butter, but people really like her.

Next it was the Van Cleef & Arpels, "Set In Style" exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, a little boutique museum currently in the process of getting a 5th Avenue face-lift. Gorgeous sparkles with stories to match, we got a unique glimpse of the kind of jewelry women rarely wear today. When the occasion calls for it, I can pull some decent diamonds out of my safe, but nothing like the jewelry privileged women wore prior to WWII. Today we can't even smoke, let alone buy a $50,000 VC&A ruby and diamond studded cigarette case to carry them in. Women were so glamorous back then, even with emphysema as their accessory.


FYI - hands down, VC& A had the best holiday windows this year. Each one had moving parts and told a little French story featuring their magnificent jewels. What you can't see is the homeless person who was outside the store on the sidewalk loudly begging for money. Quite a contrast to what was in the windows....

And who the hell knew the earth had spewed up so many big yellow diamonds? It seemed like every other day a 30 carat stone was being unearthed and auctioned off to a couple in Tennessee who looked like they lived in a trailer park. That's the millionaire next door for ya'.

Kim's diamonds on their honeymoon.

I did far too many Google searches of Kim Kardashian this year. What a waste of my time; however, her name was searched for so often I felt I needed to write about her, even if it was to write about what a waste of time she was.

I know they're easy to throw on, but come on...

Then there was Elizabeth Taylor. An icon for most of her life, she amassed a serious collection of jewelry and art that belied her frivolous love life. And her contribution to AIDS research cannot be denied. She was unique and generous, even if she lived most of her life in those ridiculous caftans.

I can't wait to see what 2012 has to offer jewelry, fashion and people-wise.

Now This Is A Collar I Would Like To Wear

2011-12-20T18:16:00.008-05:00

The Cushion Chiclet Necklace shown in citrine.
Please click on the link to see it in prasiolite.

If you read my recent post on collars, you'll remember that if you're not careful, you could wind up looking like Charlton Heston in a diaper, and that is not a good look. So I'd like to show you a collar that's guaranteed to make you look much better than that.

The David Yurman Prasiolite and Diamond Cushion Chiclet Necklace (shown to the left in citrine) is made in sterling silver, pave diamonds, aqua chalcedony, prasiolite (green amethyst), and white agate. Beautifully made on the back as well as the front, rounded squares made from these stones line up next to each other to form a soft, neutral hued sparkler that would look great during the summer with a tan and flowing white silks, or during the winter with a white blouse and black pants.

This necklace would even be at home with a strapless gown on New Year's Eve! Pair it with small earrings because this piece is the showstopper, and maybe add a silver cuff to balance out the look.

This is the best way to spend your money on a big piece of jewelry. Make sure you can wear it multiple ways with multiple outfits. David Yurman jewelry is perfect for this type of wear because casual luxury is the look you are going for. You know you've achieved it when your friends who never compliment you are moved to say something nice about how you look.

Even better, this piece, which retails for close to $5,000 in retail stores, can be found for $2,850, almost half the retail price, at bellatutto.com. Bella Tutto is a company that offers designer jewelry at less than retail prices. Today, women churn through jewelry like we churn through pantyhose, so why should you pay retail. Great bargains and deals can be found for all of your favorite jewelry designers on websites like bellatutto.com.

The Elizabeth Taylor Auction

2011-12-15T22:02:00.002-05:00

My sister and I recently had a girls' get away in New York City. The main reason for being there: to check out Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry and accessories prior to the Christie's auction. With our 11:30 AM-timed tickets in hand, we made our way to Christie's at Rockefeller Plaza and got in line behind people of all ages, including a couple of those weird women who thought they looked like Liz when they were younger, but who are now in their late 70's, and guess what girls: bouffants and black eyeliner just doesn't work for you like it did back in the 50's.

We entered and were teased with the first exhibit: a display of the jewelry boxes her baubles came in. Red Cartier box after red Cartier box on tables and shelves, most labeled with white tape indicating what came inside. There was even the box with the formed indentation of the famous La Peregrina Pearl necklace. I was excited about the forthcoming jewels...I couldn't wait to see the pearl, the rubies, the diamonds.

Christie's recreated Taylor's room where she kept her jewelry. She was well-organized, keeping the baubles in their original boxes and making sure those that were gifted had their name on the box.

However, what was next was Caftanville. I don't care if they were Dior, YSL or Valentino; it was really a lot of schmattas for one person to own for godsake. This told me Liz languished in her fat phase for an excessive number of fashion cycles.


Wasting Away In Caftanville Looking For My Lost Shaker Of Salt...

Next we came upon the handbag room. With only one window for viewing, a logjam was created by all of us trying to see the bags from Chanel, Louis, and Hermes. Of course, no real exhibit like this would be complete without your designated rude bitches, and they were located right here. Refusing to budge, and not allowing anyone else to see what was inside the handbag vault, their hands and noses were pressed on the glass like they were visiting their Uncle Nunzio, a death row prisoner, right on the other side. One turned to me and said, "you're just gonna have to go around me cause I'm cataloging everyone of these handbags,"like I dare you to get in front of me. Even the friend accompanying her tried to pull her away, telling her they should come back later. I told her Christie's has already done the cataloging for you--that's why you buy the book at the beginning of the exhibit. (Obviously her first auction preview).

The Get Outta My Way Bitch Handbag Room...a replica of Liz's actual accessories room.

Next was furniture, art, and some jewels, but nothing fantastic. Especially not fantastic were the many tacky gems Michael Jackson gave her. It appeared Liz wallowed in the Michael Jackson sequined 80's era for a while. Most of the gifts Jackson gave her were gaudy and cheap looking. Also on display was her Versace-sequined "Faces" jacket, featuring a version of her face in one of her many movie roles. Estimated to fetch anywhere from $15,000-$20,000, I think it's just awful looking, and I loved the 80's.

Michael Jackson gave Elizabeth Taylor the "Monkey Necklace".

If Liz only knew about Purple Heart.

But where is the Taylor-Burton diamond? When was I going to see the pearl? I knew they were saving the best for last as we approached the steps that led to a room that was emanating vibrating, sparkle space rays from the ceiling. Inside this room was case after case of the most incredible jewels: diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls. They were all in there, the Taylor-Burton diamond (sold for $8.8 million to a South Korean hotel conglomerate who plans on exhibiting the ring in their hotels); the Cartier tiara Mike Todd gave her (sold for $4.2 million), along with the chandelier earrings she initially owned in paste and Todd later had made in real stones; and the emerald and diamond Bulgari suite Richard Burton started buying for her when they were filming Cleopatra in the early 60's. How romantic and fun it must have been to be Dick and Liz then, walking into Bulgari in Rome and buying even one gem like that, let alone ultimately the entire suite (which fetched almost $25 million - reportedly purchased back by Bulgari). The La Peregrina Pearl - who will own this important piece of history? (sold for $11.8 million). The Bulgari sapphire saurtoir ($5.9 million) and Trombino ring? One could see that Liz didn't buy too many pieces herself. Most were given as gifts from admirers, serious and otherwise.

This was definitely an exhibit of conspicuous consumption. I don't think celebrities live like this anymore - it's a bygone era. I'm not sure what celebrities do with their money today, but it seems few flaunt it like Liz did. However, her fortune wasn't really earned through acting. Some agree she wasn't a great actress and earned her Oscars through sympathy, and the majority of her jewels were given as gifts. Maybe that's why she chose to auction them and not pass them on to her children. She truly believed she was just a guardian of the gems - never the real owner.

Would You Like A Little Sass With That Coffee Pot?

2011-11-27T22:33:00.005-05:00

I am just taking a moment here to vent about the double negative customer service experience I recently received at my local Bed Bath and Beyond. It's obvious that you can either get a deal or you can get service...but you can't have both.

Bed Bath and Beyond is the place you go for a lot of your kitchen, bath and infomercial gadgets. Cheap and plentiful, you can usually find what you need when you go there. If you are like me, however, you never remember to bring one of the many 20% off coupon's that clog up your mailbox. As you approach the checkout line you just know they aren't going to replace that coupon and you are kicking yourself that you forgot yours. This is the time you are buying a $50 item and the thought of losing $10 is annoying. All that being said, if this store was really "customer centric" (the latest buzz word regarding how we treat the client) they would tape that freaking coupon to the register like every other store does and beep away at checkout time. But no, they will not budge when it comes to accommodating you. They will, however, tell you to drive home, find the coupon, and drive back for an adjustment...like you have the time for this. I asked again just to be sure while checking out during my pre-Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza but, of course, they said no. I just snorted and grabbed my salad spinner and left in a pissed off mood.

Take these from the mailbox and place directly into your handbag.

As I leave I'm telling myself I'm never coming back to this store. But when I get home, guess what's in my mailbox? A 20% OFF THE ENTIRE PURCHASE COUPON!... good on Black Friday. I read it carefully...it doesn't say "not valid on prior purchases", so what do I do? I plan to head back on Black Friday to get an adjustment on my day before Thanksgiving purchase. This time I am ready - the coupon is easy to find because it's big and colorful. It's taking up my entire handbag.

I am greeted at the door by a happy and cheerful 20 year old "Customer Service" associate. I ask politely about the adjustment and she speaks to me in a patronizing tone and says "I apologize, but we absolutely could not give you an adjustment because this is just for Black Friday purchases." I tell her it's not stated on the coupon that it's not valid for prior purchases. She tells me I should just assume the fact that it's just for Black Friday purchases. I ask to speak with the manager (who never shows up). I tell her I will just return everything and re-purchase it. She tells me I cannot do this - it would be committing coupon fraud. What? Does this even exist? (as someone who interprets coupons for a living I can safely tell you, no). I wonder, will they take me to jail where my sentence is being forced to watch "Extreme Couponing" 24/7? No, I'd rather die. This snit is taking her job way too seriously and I am getting nowhere so I leave once more...in a pissed off mood...which apparently I do a lot when I leave this store.

When I get home I go on the Bed Bath and Beyond website and write a scathing letter to the customer service hotline. I am surprised when I get a quick response. I catch up with their regional director the following day who takes my complaint pretty seriously. I am pleased when she satisfies me with the adjustment and we have a nice conversation. I tell her I'm not a complainer - working in retail myself I don't like it when people are in my face. However I did suggest they put a muzzle on the little 20 year old "Customer Service" associate who's planning on being her CEO someday.

Diamonds Now Come From The Sun - The 110 Carat Sun Drop

2011-11-09T18:25:00.000-05:00

Here we go again. Can you believe another gargantuan yellow diamond is on the auction block? This time it's the largest known diamond of it's kind. On November 15th, Sotheby's will auction the 110.3 carat pear shaped, fancy vivid yellow "Sun Drop" diamond, discovered in South Africa just last year. The interesting thing about this stone is that it has no history. It has never been owed privately, and buyers seem to like this as they want to mark it with their own scent. In this case, they even get to name it.

The scarcity of yellow diamonds, along with the highest color rating bestowed by GIA of "fancy-vivid-yellow", supports auction estimates of $11-$15 million dollars.

Jerry Hall wishing she was still married to Mick Jagger so he could buy her this diamond.

Jerry...even this diamond doesn't cover the fact that women over 50 should wear bangs.

Kim Kardashian-What Happens To The Ring?

2011-11-01T12:06:00.003-04:00

David Gilmore's spot on rendition of Kim's ass.

The divorce of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries was announced yesterday. Are we surprised? A resounding no.

When will we, the slobbering public, who soak up celebrity stories like Sponge Bob, have enough of feeling stupid by living precariously through the smoky eye-shadowed and over blushed glittered lives of the Kardashians...with their small, rodent type voices squeaking out nano-sized syllables of empty headedness. I am uber weary of seeing these three women with their oversized lips glossed to a spitty shine, heaving breasts with lives of their own, and painted hooves crammed into orthopedic-looking blocks of wood shoes. And you thought those Birkens were a fashion statement? They really help to keep the girls upright and walking straight....sort of like steering sticks. But now, saddest of all, there are beautiful diamonds looking for a good home. People should be really sure they want to have diamonds before they get married.

And was the Lorraine Schwartz 20 carat diamond a loaner from the very start...just to be returned, as planned, when this charade marriage went bust? I'd hate to think she was in on it.

Ring Around The Choker Collar

2011-10-27T12:41:00.001-04:00

Lanvin choker in silver brushed metal, $1,335 at net-a-porter.com.

The "Style" section of this weekend's New York Times features a new necklace trend for the spring 2012 season: the choker collar. Featuring a selection of expensive looks in materials ranging from brass to gunmetal to druse (a calcium crystal...I had to look it up too), they look nice when you're feeling a little Kunta Kinte.

Silver neck cuff in white brass, $1,500 at Michael Kors.

But one must be careful...this look is not for everyone. A girl must be tall and slender with an Olive Oyl neck in order to wear them, or you can wind up channeling the Ben-Hur rowing team.

Eddie Borgo silver-plated spider choker with a hand-dyed feather, $815 at Bergdorf Goodman.

Harry Winston, China and Diamonds...Discuss

2011-10-14T21:02:00.016-04:00

1960 photo of Harry and his jewelry box.

Harry Winston, the venerable jewelry house to celebrities and the wealthy, sees solid opportunities in China. Realizing that's where new and young (emphasis on young...they will be around longer to buy) wealth is located, Winston has concentrated its efforts and plans to open at least 10 new stores in the next 5 years. The firm is looking at Russia and Dubai as well, but China is really its target market.

Chief Executive, Frederic de Narp said, "nothing is too big, nothing is too beautiful, and nothing is too expensive for the Chinese today. They are on a quest for true luxury." Meanwhile, according to de Narp, luxury is "rebounding sharply" in the lowly United States.

Harry Winston, Inc. expects sales growth of 15% in new markets in the next five years.

In 1958 Winston donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian as a "gift to the American people." The famous blue diamond was set by Cartier in 1910. In November of 2010, the Hope Diamond was temporarily remounted in a somewhat contemporary setting (see below) meant to commemorate 50 years on display at the Natural History Museum. The new setting is called "Embracing Hope" and was chosen from three potential designs. Shortly, the Hope Diamond will return to its original Cartier setting (see above), a circle of 16 white diamonds attached to a diamond necklace.

This new setting for the Hope Diamond, called "Embracing Hope," was chosen from three potential designs and is on display for a little while longer at the Smithsonian Institution. Harry Winston, Inc. will then send it on a world tour, replacing the Hope with another blue stone at its center. The plan is to then offer it for sale and donate the proceeds back to the Smithsonian.

Founded in 1932, Harry Winston became immortalized in 1953 when Marilyn Monroe called out his name in the "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" song she sang in the movie, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Winston's legacy was further celebrated in 1958 when he donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution. Actually, at the time, Winston had no prospective buyers for the ill-fated stone, believed to put some serious maloik on the owner.

In this photo, Harry Winston holds some of his famous gems in the palm of his hand. The 125.35 carat emerald cut "Jonker" diamond is center. Just under the Jonker is the 94.80 carat pear shaped Star of the East diamond. The 45.52 carat blue Hope diamond rests between his index and middle finger. The 337.10 carat Sapphire of Catherine the Great is next to his thumb, and the 70.21 carat Idol's Eye diamond is just above the Jonker. A matched pair of pear shaped diamonds and a larger ruby are also shown.

"The Lesotho" – The original rough diamond – over 601-carats uncut – was unearthed in 1967 by a woman in the South African kingdom of Lesotho. Fearing for her life, the woman fled on foot for four days and nights to sell the incredible stone under government protection. Purchased by Harry Winston, the cleaving of the Lesotho was broadcast live on television in 1968, resulting in 18 separate gems. The largest, "Lesotho One," is an exquisite 71.73-carat flawless emerald cut diamond. Aristotle Onassis purchased the 40.42-carat "Lesotho Three" for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ engagement ring.

Will You Still Love Me, When I'm.........Married AGAIN???

2011-10-09T21:01:00.005-04:00

Paul Mc Cartney married trucking heiress, Nancy Shevell today in London. What would possess him to do that? Didn't he learn the last time? The notoriously cheap Beatle, who divorced the nasty Heather Mills in 2008 for $50 million, has been called "stingy" even by his own daughter, famed clothing designer, Stella Mc Cartney. With a one page pre-nup that basically says she can't have any of the money promised to Beatrice, his daughter with Mills, he's banking on that fact that Shevell won't want any of his money because she has plenty of her own.

Looking exactly like the aged version my 1964 issue of "Mad Magazine" promised he would on the back page tri-fold puzzle, he married Shevell in the same place where thousands of fans thronged and mourned his marriage to Linda Eastman in March 1969. A very small ceremony which included Ringo Starr and Shevell's second cousin, Barbara Walters, was held on what should have been John Lennon's 71st birthday (for the love of God has it been that long?). Wealthy in her own right, Shevell actually told Mc Cartney she had her own diamonds and didn't need any from him.

Nonetheless, Mc Cartney fested Shevell with a $650,000 vintage Cartier diamond, purchased from jeweler Neil Lane. It is a flawless, round, five carat plus stone from the art deco period. The side shank of the ring accented with black onyx.

Rolex Signs Tiger Woods-A Partnership For A New Challenge

2011-10-08T10:19:00.005-04:00

I'm Baaaack............sort of.

In a move that indicates Tiger Woods might not have to live in the basement much longer, luxury watchmaker, Rolex, has just signed him to a "long standing" (some say five years) endorsement deal. In a statement on their website, Rolex states they are "paying tribute to the exceptional stature of Tiger Woods and the leading role he plays in forging the sport's global appeal. It also constitutes a joint commitment to the future." Welcome to the Rolex Rehab Center.

Rolex is convinced Tiger has many years ahead of him to scratch and climb back to number one (he's currently 51st in World Golf Rankings), and "the brand is committed to accompanying him in his new challenges," which means they will be hanging on him like a fly on poop to make sure he keeps his pants on. I'm not sure if this move makes Tiger look better, or makes Rolex look worse?

Back To School With My Sister in Washington, DC

2011-10-03T07:30:00.012-04:00

Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History

My sister (Queen Doll) and I recently attended a lecture in Washington, DC sponsored by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: "Shaping Raw Stones Into Radiant Gems." Inside this museum, the Harry Winston Gallery houses the Hope Diamond and many other incredible pieces of jewelry so that we peons can see what real jewelry used to look like.

Our speaker, Martin D. Fuller, GG (GIA), CSM, ASA, told us about talented stone artists who are creating art using ancient carving methods, as well as those who are developing new and innovative techniques shaping and cutting gems like aquamarines, pearls, and tourmalines.

My sister and I sat patiently waiting for the Hope Diamond-Marie Antoinette-Marjorie Merriweather Post-Janet Annenberg Hooker "jewelry hall of fame" part of the presentation to begin, but we soon realized this wasn't a jewelry lecture at all as we looked around and saw the number of fanny packs and Birkenstock's in the room. We were at a modern day prospectors convention: very passionate people, like trekkies, only they wear rocks on their fingers and ears.

Actually, we learned a lot. In particular: two amazing stone carving artists who use gemstones as their medium. Check out Michael Dyber, who carves aquamarines, ametrines, citrines and more, on the front as well as the back of the stones, and creates extra terrestrial design elements that are unusual and unique. He turns these stones into jewelry, or sometimes, with large stones, he creates "Palm Sculptures" like the two seen here:

287.68 carat Bolivian ametrine

"Free Form", 208.45 carat Brazilian golden beryl.

And don't miss Helen Serras-Herman, who is helping to revive the ancient art of glyptography, the art or process of carving stones, including cameos and intaglios. Her faces, like "Venus" and "Leonardo Da Vinci," can take months of preparation and work to complete. The results are unbelievable.

"Venus", a 256 carat rutillated quartz.

"Portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci", a 328 carat smoky quartz.

"Portrait of Queen Sikirit of Thailand", a 574.7 carat aquamarine.

Elizabeth Taylor - The Christie's Auction Details

2011-09-28T11:53:00.006-04:00

Now that you all have an idea about which of Elizabeth Taylor's jewels you are bidding on, here are some details.

First, it's Christie's that is holding the auction, not Sotheby's. Since they are the only two auction houses that really matter, and both auction important gems of the world, they seem to be interchangeable in terms of these important events.

In an attempt to cut 'em off at the pass, this October, Sotheby's in Hong Kong, will include in their Magnificent Jewels event, the auction of the 9.27 carat Fancy Vivid Pink Golconda diamond which carries a pre-auction estimate of $13 million - $19 million dollars. The Golconda mine in India is known for producing many of the worlds most valuable stones, many of which were owned by the ancient emperors of India and Iran. Since it no longer is mined, there are only a few of their legendary diamonds left in circulation.

This is one piece of jewelry Liz never owned.

Christie's started a world wide tour of Elizabeth Taylor's famous gems in Moscow on September 15th and September 16th, and it just arrived in London. For a taste of what's to come, view this link to see the opening: Liz in London. In October and November it continues through Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris and Hong Kong. It finally arrives in New York on December 3 and remains on display through December 12 at the Christie's Gallery, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York. Tickets are required ($30 - available at the end of October) and the catalogues are available in varying configurations at prices that range from $20 for the Souvenir Publication to $300 for the complete set. If you are really interested in the auction events, I suggest you set up an account at Christie's so you can get the details as they emerge.

This is not Elizabeth Taylor.

So choose the day you're going to New York and make sure to book your hotel now. What a fun time to be in New York City. The holiday decorations will be up and the stores will be stocked so you can get some serious shopping done. But don't forget to bring your museum armour so you can be ready to do serious battle because the big crowds in this type of exhibition bring out the worst in people. Be prepared to inhale other people's bad breath, B.O., and hair smell; navigate around the bloaty and farty people pushing you out of line while squirreling their way into your 6" personal space; and beware of the ubiquitous foreign tourists with camera equipment that would put a cinematographer to shame. Be comfortable with the fact you will never see these people again as you move in front of them or gently push them out of the line if they take too long to get their shot. Because you are there to see, for probably the only time in your life, a display of some of the most beautiful and important jewels you will ever see together in one place. It will be worth it.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton-Can't Live With Him, Can't Live Without Him

2011-09-25T18:46:00.005-04:00

I liked them best old, drunk and nasty.

We're all familiar with the tempestuous marriages of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton so I won't bore you with their legendary stories. Sigh...we just don't hear those kinds of tales about today's celebrities. We're much more interested in news of recent plastic surgery, like Meg Ryan's jaw dropping corrective face lift...it's about time she noticed how weird she looked. Or how scary skinny Kelly Ripa (who looks like she can't wait to throw up in the nearest toilet so she can get rid of that forkful of food she is allowing herself just because she's being photographed) is.

Meg Ryan as the Joker on the left. Today, post Joker surgery.

Gag...Ripa looks like a little boy but eats like an anorexic.

Taylor and Burton adored, hated, adored and hated each other. I believe they shared a unique passion for love and life, however, when you have sombrero sized egos, only one can fit in a room. Between both marriages, Burton bejeweled Taylor with some of the most important gems in the world...ever. There are so many...here are the best of them.

The Grand Duchess Vladimir suite started off with the amazing emerald and diamond brooch Liz is wearing. Burton and Taylor met in the early 60's on the set of Cleopatra. Their love affair caused so much gossip back then you would have thought they were filming porn. As it was, Liz only showed a little cleavage in the movie.

Burton built upon the Bulgari Grand Duchess Vladimir Suite in the early 60's when he added this magnificent Bulgari emerald and diamond necklace. Then, he went jewelry crazy. The necklace pre-auction estimate: $1,000,000-$1,500,000; the pendant: $500,000-$700,000; the ring: $600,000-$800,000; and the earrings: $150,000-$200,000.

Burton said the only Italian word Liz new was "Bulgari". I know a few curse words.

What happens to us?

Tiffany's, Jean Schlumberger, "Night of the Iguana" brooch, 1964. Estimated pre-auction value $200,00-$300,000.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond, a 69.42 carat, D-IF, pear shaped stone, was purchased by Burton in 1967 from Cartier for $1.1 million. The stone was quickly re-set into the more frequently seen cleavage necklace Liz dangled between her bubbies, because even Liz thought it was too big to wear as a ring. In 1978, Taylor sold the stone for $3,000,000, two years after the end of her second marriage to Burton, in part to help fund a school in Botswanna (and is said to have later regretted selling it). Today, the stone is reported to be in the hands of Lebanese diamond dealer, Robert Mouawad, who paid in the neighborhood of $5,000,000 for it and then had the stone re-cut to a more manageable 68.09 carats. This will not be in the Christie's auction.

The Krupp Diamond (now known as the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond), 33.19 carats, D- VS1, a gift from Burton in 1968 (purchase price then, $305,000). Previously owned by Nazi sympathizer, Alfried Krupp, Taylor thought it funny a little Jewish girl like her wound up with the diamond. She wore it almost every day of her life. Estimated pre-auction value of $2,500,000-$3,500,000.

A close-up of "this old thang".

La Peregrina pearl. Burton gave Taylor this historical bird's egg pearl in 1961. It was once owned by Queen Mary I. Extra necklace sparkly parts courtesy of Cartier. Estimated pre-auction value of $2,000,000-$3,000,000.

The "Granny Suite". Burton gave this Van Cleef and Arpels suite to Taylor in honor of her first grandchild at age 39, born in 1971. Estimated pre-auction value of the necklace is $120,000-$180,000.

Van Cleef and Arpels "Granny" earrings. Estimated pre-auction value of $25,000-$35,000.

The main component of the Bulgari sautoir is a 52.72 carat sugarloaf Burmese sapphire. Burton gave this to Taylor in 1972 for her 40th birthday.

Bulgari sapphire and diamond ring was added later. Pre-auction value of $600,000.

The Taj Mahal diamond circa 1627. This historically significant diamond was once owned by the man who built it. Another outstanding gift given to Taylor by Burton for her 40th birthday in 1972. Estimated pre-auction value of $300,000-$500,000

It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for those lucky enough to view Taylor's jewel collection while on tour this fall. The proceeds of the sale, some of which will benefit the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, will leave a legacy for generations to come. Initial estimates of her collection are around $30,000,000 but experts believe it will be triple that, or more. I just can't believe her children, especially her daughters, are not lusting after at least one of the important gems in her collection - just to remember her by.

Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd - What A Guy!

2011-09-21T20:45:00.000-04:00

If you can believe it, Kim Kardashian's engagement ring wasn't the biggest ever given. Back in 1956, Mike Todd gave Elizabeth Taylor a 29.4 carat emerald cut diamond engagement ring, or as Liz referred to it, "my ice skating rink."

There's a lot of information out there that says Mike Todd may have been the love of Liz Taylor's life and it's said she continued to wear his wedding ring after his death. Removed from the wreckage of the plane crash that killed him in 1958, Liz wore the twisted and charred ring on her right hand throughout her marriage to Eddie Fisher. This did not bode well for their relationship...it lasted less than five years.

Mike Todd certainly seemed to be the man who started her love affair with jewelry. After the engagement ring in 1956, the following year he gave Taylor this antique Cartier tiara which Liz wore often. Today, valued at $60,000-$80,000, it is among items included in the Christie's auction this December.

Taylor at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival looking queenly and stuff.

Taylor was wearing this tiara poolside when Todd gave her the ruby and diamond suite pictured below.

Soon after the tiara, Todd gave her the infamous ruby and diamond Cartier necklace, earrings and bracelet suite. According to reports, Liz was already wearing the tiara in the pool when he gave her the suite - that's one reason to never have to put your head in the water. Also included in the upcoming Christie's auction, the suite is valued at $500,000-$600,000.

Taylor originally saw these earrings made in "paste" (not real) in a jewelry boutique on Place Vendome in Paris and loved them so much she purchased them even though they were not made with diamonds. Some months later she went to put them on and noticed a difference. They looked clean and bright - and were heavier than she remembered. When she asked Todd about them, he replied that he had them remade...this time with real diamonds. Mike Todd was rully, rully good at understanding the little things that make women happy.

Todd treated Taylor like a queen in the short time they had together. In 1958, he was killed along with three others in a fiery plane crash in New Mexico. Liz was almost on that plane but wound up staying home with a cold. Identified through dental records, according to Eddie Fisher (one of Todd's best friends), all that remained were Todd's wedding ring and a pair of platinum cuff links Fisher had given him.

In a ghoulish aside, almost twenty years after Todd's death, his grave was desecrated by thieves looking for a diamond ring Taylor reportedly placed in his casket before his burial. A bag with Todd's remains (bone and ash) was located under a nearby tree. He was later reinterred in an undisclosed location.

Where Do Chocolate Diamonds Come From?

2011-09-19T09:26:00.002-04:00

Post-colonoscopy photo. I wonder who had to...?

Chocolate diamonds are becoming very popular. Did you ever wonder how they were made? Well, for one, they come from Spain and this how it goes: Two women walk into a restaurant in a luxury resort in Spain. One puts her handbag on the floor, and they proceed to have dinner.

Soon, two men enter the room, one sits at the bar and the other at a table next to the women. The men leave and the woman soon discovers her handbag is missing and, along with it, 2000 euros, 400 pounds sterling, a mobile phone, a diamond pendant worth 12,000 euros ($16,500), plus some other insignificant fuzzballs from the bottom of her bag. Now girls, I know you are on vacation, but one can never let one's handbag out of one's sight, especially if one is carrying that kind of booty in it.

A few hours later four men were stopped at a checkpoint and police found the woman's handbag in the car. Everything was recovered except the diamond. The police saw one of the men put his hand to his mouth...hmmmm, they thought? Did he just swallow that diamond? X-rays showed the stone in his stomach and, of course, police had to let nature take its course to recover the gem. And that's how chocolate diamonds are made.

The Golden Eye Diamond - Auction Update

2011-09-14T19:40:00.004-04:00

A quick departure from Elizabeth Taylor to bring you this update on The Golden Eye diamond auction results. This rare and exquisite stone was expected to bring anywhere from $3 million to $20 million dollars at auction, but I guess the economy is a little tough for everybody as the final price fell short of expectations. Selling for just $2.8 million dollars, the new owners of the Golden Eye are a semi-retired Ohio couple, Jerre and Donah Hentosh. Prepared to spend as much as $7 million dollars for the diamond, Mr. Hentosh placed an online bid for the diamond thinking he would never win. It was his first online purchase. Yeah...that's what happens when I put things in my fake shopping carts too, but it's usually a bra and a pair of panties in there.

Actually, Mr. Hentosh is a pretty smart business man. A very successful home builder, he and his wife opened Gold and Silver, Ltd. back in 1979 to carry them over when the construction business was hit hard by the recession. Mr. Hentosh knows that when times are tough, people tend to sell their personal property to make a little extra cash. According to him, "it's a good business to be in for a short time." The Hentosh's are not sure what they will do with the stone...keep it or sell it. But for now, they've made the ultimate Internet purchase.

Bid4Assets, the online auction house that hosted the sale, started the bidding on September 6th. Bidding remained slow until the last day, September 8th. Sixteen bids were submitted in the last minutes of the auction, nine of which Mr. Hentosh claimed were his. Mr. Hentosh has learned the hard way that you must only click once at check out time.

Mr. Hentosh is on the left.

Elizabeth Taylor's Jewels

2011-09-10T19:07:00.004-04:00

Who will carry the next jewelry torch? Is there someone out there who loves jewelry as much, or has amassed the level of important pieces, as Elizabeth Taylor? Wallis Simpson? Even Joan Crawford had a respectable Agnes Moorehead-looking jewelry collection for god sake. Kim Kardashian may have a 20 carat diamond engagement ring, but she doesn't strike me as the type to have the insight that Liz and Dick had to acquire some of the most historically significant jewels of the world. Madonna has purchased some pieces previously owned by Wallis Simpson, but jewelry looks better on a woman, not an aging rat terrier.

Liz Taylor by Richard Avedon

Today's celebrities are really cheesy in the way they beg, borrow, or steal the fabulous jewels they are seen wearing on the red carpet. They are wealthy, but apparently not the kind of wealthy that allows them to buy and wear Van Cleef & Arpels or Bulgari on a regular basis. However, it does appear to be a symbiotic relationship between the stars and the designers who need celebrities to help them establish their name. Are there no new designers out there who have enough confidence in their stuff to put their stuff out there for the sake of their own stuff? Does every new designer need a celebrity name behind them in order to get started, let alone survive? As I grow more and more tired of celebrity entitlement, I long for a true designer (jewelry or clothing) who can rest on their laurels alone.

Liz ignoring the rule... put all your jewelry on and then remove one piece.

Liz, Wallis, and Jackie were the last of a fine breed of American women who lived a life my generation is not familiar with. The uber-jewel collections have migrated to the Asian, Russian, and Middle Eastern communities (not including the Royals, who really don't own any of it - they just host it) because that is where the wealth is today. Enjoy ladies! Protect those sparkles, and like Liz said, "I am fortunate to have some very important pieces of jewelry. I don't believe I own any of the pieces. I believe that I am their custodian, here to enjoy them, to give them the best treatment in the world, to watch after their safety, and to love them."

Elizabeth Taylor's Jewels Go To Auction

2011-09-07T21:05:00.004-04:00

For those amongst us who truly covet the beautiful gems of the world and the back stories of those who owned them, get ready because some of the most magnificent jewelry in the world are about to be recycled. From Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels to JAR and Bulgari, this December, Christie's will auction Elizabeth Taylor's complete jewelry collection, estimated to be worth 30 million dollars or more. Christie's will also auction a group of Taylor's better costume jewelry along with some of her clothes, which seems a little Skelator to me; however, as we all know, there is a market for everything. Over the next few weeks I'll look a little more closely at Liz's jewels and the stories behind them.

One of her most memorable jewels is the Krupp diamond, now known as the "Elizabeth Taylor Diamond," which Richard Burton bought for her in 1968 for $305,000. At that time, this was the highest price ever paid for a diamond at auction. An Ascher cut diamond, weighing 33.19 carats of D, VS1 magnificence, today the diamond is valued at between $2,500,000 - $3,000,000.

Previously owned by Vera Krupp von Bohlen und Halback, wife of the German industrialist, Alfried Krupp, etc., etc., the diamond was auctioned after Vera's death. There is a somewhat creepy background to the stone as Alfried was a key supplier of weapons and material to the Nazis during World War II. Krupp's insistence on using slave labor taken directly from the concentration camps, even when free German labor was offered from the government, resulted in his trial and ultimate three year imprisonment after the war.

The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, 33.19 carats, D Color, potentially Internally Flawless.
Gift from Richard Burton, May 16, 1968.
Eat your heart out Kim Kardashian.

Lorraine Schwartz Opens Exclusive Boutique in Bergdorf's

2011-09-04T20:16:00.000-04:00

Elusive Lorraine Schwartz

Hot on the heels of Kim Kardashian's amazing wedding jewelry, and along with Beyonce, Angelina, and Jennifer's incredible sparkles, Lorraine Schwartz has opened an exclusive boutique in New York's fabulous little jewel, Bergdorf Goodman.

Schwartz told Women's Wear Daily, "The boutique is the only place where you can see my entire collection," which includes, Against Evil Eye, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil Monkeys, and 2BHappy.

Bergdorf's has hosted many of Schwartz's little beauties for years now but made the decision to open dedicated real estate due to the need for extra space, which they will need in case Kim Kardashian's ass ever shows up for an event. Bergdorf's is a small store as you know...

18 carats and worth $5 million dollars to get married, I wonder what Beyonce's push gift will be???

Are You A "Just Becauser?"....The New Jewelry Customer

2011-08-27T14:42:00.009-04:00

Assorted Ippolita 18K bangles. Starting at $695.

You've got a great job. You've worked hard, and over the years you've pushed other bitches out of the way...I mean you've snarled your way up the ladder of success. Along your star-studded path you've recognized important achievements with a nice piece of David Yurman jewelry, or maybe a Hermes handbag. When you scrutinize the Neiman Marcus website, picking out all the things you love, you see a beautiful pair of Christian Louboutins, and your feet start to itch, you have to have them so bad. Without a thought, you click, click, click those little red-soled gems into your authentic shopping cart, not the imaginary one that most people keep when they fake shop. You're used to treating yourself with nice things... because you can.

Heidi Mitchell, in her recent The Wall Street Journal article, "Jewelry Waits For No Man: Buy It For Yourself," notes how Mintel, a market research firm, identifies women who shop like this as a growing and important segment of high end buyers known as "Just Becausers." These are women, able to make exclusive purchases for themselves, just because. Because they want it, they think they need it, and most importantly, they can afford it. They are a professional women, age 45 and up, and last year, 59% of the purchases made by this group were for no particular reason.

It is exactly this logic that needs to be embraced by the jewelry industry. The industry has historically targeted a male market, and men generally only buy for some type of specific reason like an anniversary, birthday, or new baby, and, as men do, they apply way too much logic when making a purchase, especially a big one like jewelry. Most men buy jewelry like they buy a hammer at the Home Depot. Lots of dumb questions, like "what is the resale value of this ring?" or "where are diamonds made?" or "can my wife return it if she doesn't like it?" Do these analytical questions really have any bearing on the fact that when you see a piece of jewelry that would look beautiful on your significant other and you can afford it, what's the big frigging deal? Just buy it.

The jewelry industry is an old business and change took a long time. Back in the 90's, many of the smaller vendors we did business with were not even computerized. I remember visiting a vendor who pulled out samples that were wrapped in Kleenex tissues and stored in old shoe boxes. Everything in his business was stored in his head. This would be tough for most of us if we were in our 80's (like this man) but he had a mind like a fox snare. Keeping with this attitude, much of the industry still designs for men who buy for women...not women who buy for themselves. If they were smart, they would start changing their direction toward this new trend.


H. Stern 18K YG Small Love Knot Earrings. $2600

Some smart designers like Ippolita, H. Stern and Ivanka Trump, have taken note. They see that women think of jewelry as an extension of their wardrobe, not necessarily a reward for getting laid last night (well, maybe). These designers recognize that women want quality, but also want quantity...because they have the money.

Ivanka Trump - assorted rings. Starting at $725.

But women are also being smart with their money in these tough times and many are turning to eBay, Gilt, and a growing number of designer consignment shops that resell gently used, authentic designer products for up to half, or less, than retail. Many women have purchased enough designer goods to spot a fake, and feel confident to shop on these sites, or if they feel insecure about this, many shops pride themselves on having the expertise to do this for you. Align yourselves with a good one, like Bella Tutto, and you can save a ton of dough.

The Kardashian Bubble

2011-08-24T08:18:00.008-04:00

Do you think Kim Kardashian's wedding was more exclusive than Kate Middleton and Prince William's April nuptials? Although there was similar mystery shrouding the dress and ring beforehand, there isn't the same type of after buzz. The Kardashian's cut a deal with E! News and People Magazine who control the rights to the wedding video's and photos, and when they will be released and we must suffer until October until we see the entire thing (sob). As you scour the internet, you will find the same photos of Kris Jenner's ridiculous bow gown (was Vera playing a joke - I thought they were friends) and little Mason scampering erratically down the aisle (cue human element) but real information about her big day is being slowly squeeked out like the air out of a balloon.

From the photos I've seen, I have to say she looked beautiful, including her unusual headpiece, which featured a 2.5 million dollar, 65 carat diamond strand, with large stones hanging throughout on her forehead. I guess it's what you wear when you don't have a 300 year old tiara in the family that you can to dust off and sparkle in for the day. But the real show stopper had to be those 28 carat diamond earrings. Reports say all of her jewelry was exclusively provided by Lorraine Schwartz, the same designer who made that unbelievable 20.5 carat engagement ring, and totaled over 10 millions dollars. The earrings, reminiscent of Oprah's fabulous Graff diamond earrings, have a huge pear shaped diamond swinging from a diamond element at the ear.

I think she'll get tired of this look as it's not easy to wear.

I was able to finally see an image of her wedding band and I called it in my previous post, "What Wedding Ring Will Kim Kardashian Choose?" Also by Lorraine Schwartz, it looks like Kim chose a 15 carat eternity band of emerald (or radiant or Ascher) cut diamonds, however, she's wearing it with her engagement ring which is not a very good idea. Not only don't they fit very well, but diamonds rubbing against diamonds could cause damage to the stones (diamonds are the only stone that can damage another diamond). Although it would be fun to wear thirty plus carats on your finger, alas, it's not very comfortable.


9.0tcw. Emerald Cut Diamond Eternity Band. Blue Nile. H-VS2, Platinum, $33,000.

But I predict a Kardashain bubble is in the making. Just like the internet bubble, the housing bubble and the banking bubble, the Kardashian's are approaching bubble bursting over-exposure. They should cut back but show no signs of doing so. There are even two new Kardashian sisters who are being cultivated in the lab as we speak because there can never be enough Kardashian's. But even Oprah knew when it was time to go...I just hope we don't have 25 years of Kardashian's....I'm not interested in see Kim go through menopause.

The Golden Eye Goes On The Auction Block

2011-08-21T20:14:00.003-04:00

The Golden Eye, believed to be one of the largest internally flawless diamonds in existence, will go on the auction block in early September. Evaluated by the GIA as a 43.51 carat, rectangular, natural, brilliant cut, intense yellow diamond, it was seized in 2006 during a federal drug and money laundering investigation in northeast Ohio. The auction opens with a minimum starting bid of $900,000 after which bids must increase by increments of $110,000. You can't even see or bid on the stone without first placing a deposit of $180,000 (refundable, thank you), which will be on display in Cleveland from August 29 - September 2.

Paul Monea

The origin of the diamond is unclear, but it is believed to be from southern Africa, known for producing intense yellow diamonds similar to the Golden Eye. But as with all outstanding gems, the more interesting history is the back story. This one links the stone to businessman, Paul Monea, famous for making millions with Billy Blank's Tae-Bo infomercials in the 90's (come on, you know you had one), and who was convicted in 2007 for money laundering and conspiracy. Monea, who many believe to be a professional schemer, came from humble roots and hit success early on with the idea of restaurant coupons, then went on to squander almost every cent he ever made by buying, among other things, fancy cars, an estate once owned by boxer Mike Tyson, and the Golden Eye diamond. Authorities said Monea was caught in a sting when he tried to sell the Golden Eye, along with Tyson's tiger filled house, to an undercover FBI agent posing as a broker for a drug cartel, for 19.5 million dollars and a boat. Sitting at a conference table with his laywer, an associate, and the undercover agent who was working the sale, Monea was this close to romping with the unicorns in fields of happiness as this deal was about to go down. Everyone was waiting for a gemologist to authenticate the diamond before the money was to be wired. "It's real," the gemologist says, and the OK is given to send the money. This is when FBI agents rushed into the room and Monea quickly realized he was about to be lowered into a landfill of shit. What a boob.

Monea was a complicated man who spent a lot of time thinking up schemes in order to get over other people. In the end, he was caught in his own complex web of intrigue. Whereas, if he was a woman, she would have just handed it over to Sotheby's...that's the difference between a man and a woman. Monea made and spent millions of dollars, and now at 64, sits in prision not to be released until sometime in 2018, and...he lost the diamond.

Sale projections of the stone are anywhere from 3 million to 20 million dollars, but the true value will be determined when the gavel drops. Buyers are anticipated to be mostly international, given the growing realization that they are the only people with the kind of disposable income required to purchase this type of stone. Americans are just too poor now, even the rich ones. 20% of the sale price will be going to the US Marshals Service, with the remaining money going to some of Monea's swindled victims and to the federal and local agencies that helped with the Monea case.

What Wedding Ring Will Kim Kardashian Choose?

2011-08-18T11:45:00.002-04:00

With just a few days to go before what some people are calling the "Next Royal Wedding," many are wondering what Kim Kardashian's wedding ring will look like. One thing you can count on is it will be big. She will need a ring that will counterbalance the 20.5 carat diamond engagement ring Kris Humphries gave her, which, if you will remember, is counterbalancing her huge ass. If I was Kim, I would move that giant diamond to my right hand, and get a wide diamond band or a large eternity ring set with emerald cut diamonds for my left hand. I understand she occasionally wears a CZ version of her engagement ring for security reasons, so why not have real diamonds that you can wear all the time as a great looking wedding band? She may also want to consider a thin platinum band to wear while she cleans the house and does the dishes. This type of band is perfect for engraving inside, however, it shouldn't be engraved too deeply as there are big questions as to how long this marriage is going to last.

There are rumors that the ring is the same one she had when engaged to Reggie Bush back in 2009, or that Kim bought the ring herself, or even that celebrity station "E" purchased the ring in return for the rights to televise her wedding. Look at the photos below and decide for yourself whether or not this was her Reggie ring. Either she really, really likes this design and had it duplicated, or it's the same ring.

I'm really not so interested in watching the Kardashian-Humphries wedding on TV. I couldn't wait to get up at four in the morning and watch along with my sister as the "Real Royal Wedding" of Kate Middleton and Prince William took place this past spring. Maybe it's the vacuous, reality nonsense that make up the Kardashian persona, versus the centuries of history, legacy, drama and intrigue the royals own, that make Kim's the less than compelling wedding to watch.

I'm fascinated about why Kim Kardashian and her fembot family of fame vampires are one of the most often Google'd names, only to find most people bash them big time in the comments section. The three sisters together, along with their bossy cow mother and the creepiest version of Bruce Jenner to date, are the hilt of annoyance to most people, but we continue to be interested and they continue to make a fortune as a result.

All I know is if you Google "famous for nothing," Kim Kardashian comes up.

You’re Going On Your First Job Interview…What Should You Wear (or Not Wear)

2011-08-14T13:30:00.017-04:00

This is a Don't......
unless you work at the MAC counter.

The first thing you should do is make sure all visible tattoos are covered; hopefully, you don’t have any on your face. The second thing to do is remove your nose ring, your lip ring, your chin ring, your eyebrow ring, your tongue ring, your ear cartilage ring, your nipple ring, your hoo-ha ring; just remove all your head and body jewelry before you meet the HR representative. The key is to not make noise as you move. You know what--don’t even wear earrings, just to be safe.

If you are interviewing anywhere remotely connected to the corporate arena, please do the following to put together an easy universal look that will work for most job interviews: purchase the best black or navy suit you can afford (pants or skirt - it doesn't matter), along with a tailored blouse or top (white is best) as well as black shoes with a reasonable heel - nothing hoochy mamma. If you're wearing pants, don’t forget a nice belt with a silver buckle--nothing with chains, sheriff badges, antlers or sequins on it--just a plain silver buckle…kind of like the Pilgrims but smaller. You can wear pantyhose, or not; however, if you're wearing a skirt be sure to shave and moisturize your legs. I'll never forget the woman I once interviewed for a sales job who didn't wear stockings and had not shaved her legs. I couldn't stop looking at her caveman leg stubble. She was unforgettable...and not in a good way.

Splurge and get a manicure. Ask to have your nails cut shorter. Get Essie’s Limo-Scene on your nails. It’s pale pink, natural looking, and looks like a French manicure but lasts longer. I hope you already know you shouldn’t have talons. Check your nose for boogers and your teeth for spinach. Sounds silly, but it's mortifying to make these discoveries after the interview is over.

Your make-up should be simple as well: no Joker-Mouth lipstick. Just a little foundation, a small amount of blush, and mascara. Chanel makes a nice lip gloss, #87, that's a pale pink. Put this on after you've used Lancôme's "Ideal" lip liner and it defines your face but looks natural.

If your hair is long make sure you've had a recent cut and be sure to get a touch up if your roots are showing. This is not the time for weasel nest hair – no Amy Winehouse (RIP) or Lily Munster do's. Get a bob if your hair is on the shorter side, or wear a ponytail if it’s longer…the simpler the better.

Lagos Caviar Fluted Bracelet $395

Lagos Caviar Luxe Bracelet $395

Lagos Caviar Bracelet $395

Lagos Caviar Bar Bracelet $395

Now…down to the jewelry. In this case, it’s much better to underdress than overdo. Maybe a silver bracelet, like one of the Lagos Caviar bracelets. There are four designs, and they are relatively inexpensive and extremely wearable at all times, even after your interview. You should wear a watch on your other wrist. I know the younger generation uses their cell phones to tell time, but guess what: you’re killing the watch business. Please buy a nice watch. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but a watch on one’s wrist has been a style standard for eons. If I were living in the Stone Age, I would have strapped a sundial on my arm – that’s how important I feel a watch is. Plus, it’s considered rude to take out your cell phone anytime during the interview process; it’s much easier to look at a watch instead, and your interviewer won't think you're checking your messages. As a matter of fact, be sure to turn your cell phone off. Now, go look for that watch you got as a graduation gift and see if it still works.

If you promise to remove all hardware, you could wear pearl studs, diamond studs, or small silver or gold hoops in your ears if you have them. If you don’t have a discreet earring, don’t wear any. This is not the time for your Gypsy La Straga or Jersey Shore jewelry. Go small or not at all.

This is a Do - almost everywhere.

All this being said, if you are interviewing outside of the corporate world, you could ramp it up a notch or two, but don’t go crazy. Once you have the job, check out the people who have the job you aspire to. Their appearance can give you an idea of what’s acceptable and what’s not. Remember that boring saying, “first impressions count”? Guess what...they still do.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston…Jewels, Gems, and Treasures and...Mary Todd Lincoln

2011-08-10T09:07:00.007-04:00

Mary Todd, 1847.

I just had to write about poor Mary Todd Lincoln. Misunderstood, misrepresented, and overextended on her personal budgets, she was not unlike a few of the customers I’ve known over the years. By far, the majority of people I deal with are very responsible about the money they spend with me. Let’s face it, people don’t need what I sell. I sell luxury items that are usually the first thing to go when things get tough…or so you would think. For some, it's impossible to let go of the image of prosperity. They’re just not comfortable enough with themselves to stop the kind of spending that is putting them in jeopardy with either their spouse who sees things differently, or a budget that can’t sustain this kind of spending…for whatever reason.

Mary Todd Lincoln was a person who came from wealth and prominence and wound up marrying an older, more common man. Later, she came under a most painful type of scrutiny by the entire United States population while experiencing intense personal disaster. Was it really such a crime to buy drapes that were never hung or to purchase too much china for the White House? Just read up on Nancy Reagan for a modern version of this kind of First Lady.

Mary Todd was born in 1818 to a privileged, influential and aristocratic family whose ancestors had a distinguished record in the American Revolution. She was more educated than most women of her time, and some felt this may have given her the confidence to speak her opinions openly, something that women did not do a great deal of at this time. She was smart, ambitious and very interested in politics, and she took an active role in promoting her husband’s political career. "Lincoln had great respect for her judgment and never took an important step without consulting her," recalled Emilie Todd Helm, Mary’s half-sister. Mary viewed her extravagant redecoration of the White House and money spent on her wardrobe as a necessary expense in order to earn respect for her husband and the Union, while others saw it as gross consumption during a time of restraint and strife.

Mrs. Lincoln was probably one of the first women to find solace in retail therapy. Just imagine if you were in her shoes: she lost half-brothers in the Civil War, three of her four children died, she suffered from a severe head injury in a carriage accident, and then her husband was shot in the head as she sat next to him. After all of this, her surviving son had her committed, and she later suffered a spinal cord injury in a fall. As if this wasn't enough for one person to handle, she eventually fell on hard financial times and stood by and watched as many of her personal belongings were sold off. All this while fighting Congress for the right to a measly widow’s pension. So maybe she went a little cagoots and bought 100 pairs of gloves and never wore them. Good taste is a curse.

She remains a mystery as far as First Ladies go. Was she a feminist fame-seeker, a woman who was used to having nice things, or was she just feeling a little Black Swan now and then? Many considered her bi-polar. My god, bi-polar people are some of my best customers.

This earring brooch suite is Mary Todd Lincoln's mourning jewelry. Totaling approximately 4.70 carats, the 58 mine cut diamonds color range is J-K with VS-VS1 clarity. It was part of a large group of Mrs. Lincoln's clothes, jewelry, and furnishings that were offered for sale through Brady & Company of New York City. Mrs. Lincoln fell into dire financial circumstances after the assassination of her husband, Abraham Lincoln. The sale price was listed as $350.00.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston purchased this suite in 2008 for their current exhibition for $24,150.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston…Jewels, Gems, and Treasures and...Hummingbirds?

2011-08-07T11:51:00.001-04:00

Angry Birds

Jewelry lovers must thank the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation (of the Kaplan Learning Center fame) for opening a gallery specifically devoted to the display of jewelry, and for hiring Yvonne Markowitz, the Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry. We have these people to thank for bringing us examples of some of the more bizarre pieces of jewelry ever known to man.

Entomological and ornithological jewelry was very popular during the mid to late 19^th century and was viewed as one of the ways for women to reconnect with nature as the onset of the industrial age crept up on them. Women’s magazines encouraged women to skin and mount their own creations, while more intricate and upscale pieces were made by jewelers. I’m sure you were laying low if you were the family dog during these times.

So it’s no wonder women of the Victorian era were thought to swoon…they were probably driven insane by the endless sound of flapping hummingbird wings hovering on the sides of their heads. Oh, they were stuffed you say? There goes my vision of no earring hardware needed – just birds, endlessly fidgeting, suspended on your lobes.

When I think of gems and pearls, especially earrings, I think of the time it takes to find two perfectly matching stones – in size, color and quality. Just think about finding perfectly matching hummingbirds. I’ve seen less than ten in my lifetime, let alone enough birds to make a matching pair of earrings and brooch. And think of the poor taxidermist who had to stuff these things. I guess it’s pretty amazing what you can do with eyebrow tweezers and a cotton ball. This suite of jewelry gives a whole new meaning to Angry Birds.

Brooch in gold with foliate design and mounted head of hummingbirds with ruby eyes and gold beak; matching earrings.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston…Jewels, Gems, and Treasures - Ancient to Modern

2011-08-03T14:14:00.012-04:00


Ka-Ka-Ching for Ba-Ba Bling at the Museum

My sister--you know the one with that Queen doll--is in Boston this week with her husband. He is a retired Army colonel who works in the Pentagon and is in Boston this week taking a senior management course at the JFK School of Government at Harvard. She is tagging along as extra baggage but took on a special assignment on behalf of gemsaboutjewels. She stopped by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to check out “Jewels, Gems and Treasures – Ancient to Modern” which started July 19, 2011 and runs until November 25, 2012. The 11,000 piece jewelry collection features pieces that span ancient Egyptian times to the 21st century in America. It seems as though museums all over the country are starting to catch on to this new and interesting equation:

Jewelry + Gems + Story = Big $$$$ to museums featuring same old thing.

As I discussed in my earlier blog post, “Why Do People Wear Jewelry?” we learned that jewelry gets most people (especially women) really, really excited. It may boost our egos to think how great we’re going to look in it, or maybe it's the chance to wear something expensive and flaunt it in front of our friends. Or perhaps it's just the investment value. Over all these years, noted jewelry icons like Wilma Flintstone, Cleopatra and Elizabeth Taylor have steered the course, and they can’t be wrong.

The first piece we’ll look at is an important ancient Egyptian broadcollar that was uncovered during a museum expedition in 1913. This was during a time when long-dead, undisturbed little Egyptian people were being dug up all over the place from their cat pee smell tombs because Egyptomania was the rage. Actually taken from the mummified body of Ptah-Shepses Impy, an official of King Pepy II, the collar was made from gold, turquoise, lapis lazuli and hundreds of small blue glazed steatite (soapstone) beads. The collar was important because some of the original beadwork survived, and it was studied by conservators who were able to reconstruct the collar in the same manner as the ancients. Because of this, it served as a model for the reconstruction of other broadcollars.

Wesekh Broadcollar - Egyptian

2246–2152 B.C.

6 7/8" x 6 7/8" x 1"

Zara Phillips Wears the Meander Tiara

2011-07-31T08:25:00.006-04:00

Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, (1981-), pierced-tongue daughter of Princess Anne, Princess Royal, (1950-) was married July 30, 2011 in Scotland to Michael James Tindall, (1978-), an English rugby player who plays for Gloucester Rugby. Not quite the too-doo of the April wedding of Prince William and clothes hanger Kate Middleton, this brawny and sports minded bride and groom will live a more casual lifestyle. No honeymoon for them as they are both off to prior sporting commitments, Phillips in career as a show-jumper, and Tindall due back at his England rugby training camp on Monday.

Phillips chose to wear her mother’s tiara, The Meander, which was given to Princess Anne by her mother, Queen Elizabeth in 1972. The Meander is well known because Anne has worn it time and time again as if it was the only piece of jewelry she ever owned. The tiara is made from platinum and features a center brilliant cut diamond surrounded by a laurel wreath motif. The sides of the tiara feature a Greek key design with a floral scroll component on each side. Originally owned by Princess Alice of Battenberg, (1885-1969), later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, mother of Prince Phillip. Alice gave the tiara to her daughter in law, Queen Elizabeth as a wedding gift…as if she needed it. But you know how it sometimes is with mother in law gifts…the Queen has never been seen in public wearing this particular tiara. Not unlike the sequined sweatshirt from the Stone Harbor collection I received from my mother in law.

Princess Alice of Battenburg, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

A young Princess Anne wearing The Meander.

An older Princess Anne wearing The Meander...again.

Annie and Granny. When we were little girls, my sister and I had Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret dolls. Of course, my sister had the Queen doll.

I'm 50 - My tiara thanks you Spanx.

A more recent photo and she's still wearing it.
I am now calling this the Groundhog Day Tiara because it keeps coming back the next day.

Zara and her father, Mark Phillips, former husband of Princess Anne. In August 1985 Phillips fathered a daughter as a result of an extramarital affair. He was confirmed as the father as a result of DNA testing during a paternity suit in 1991. Phillips and Anne divorced in 1992.

Zara in The Meander and her Stewart Parvin dress. He is a favorite of the Queen. What every young girl wants, her Grandmother's dress designer to make her wedding dress.

From some angles he's very handsome...and from others he looks like that guy from Goonies.

She is getting a gaunt. Even the size 0’s are hanging off her.

Nothing that a little Round-Up can’t help.

I thought these girls were being coached.
Next time, they must get more than the shoes right.

Excuse Me...Did You Know Your Jewelry Is Dirty? This Is What You Should Do

2011-07-27T14:59:00.003-04:00

Everybody wears their jewelry in different ways. Some people are lucky enough to have a ton of it and cycle through their many favorites, so most of what they own doesn’t show much wear. Others have only a few pieces and wear them all the time, including to bed, in the shower and even during sexy time. Sorry, but this type of wear eventually causes stink vibrations to emanate off your jewelry that others can sense. Some women pride themselves on wearing a particular pendant every day. “I NEVER take this off”, she brags. Well, guess what? Every time you shower with that thing on, soapy skin-flaked water falls down on it and clogs up every prong, and dirt filled crusty layers coat the stone as if you were cultivating your own pearl...and I can see it from where I'm standing. I feel a Rosann Rosannadanna skit coming on to fully describe how gross it is to wear something constantly and never clean it. It’s OK to wear your favorites over and over again as long as you clean them from time to time… and here are some tips on what you need to buy to keep your baubles looking their best, and how to do it. It’s not hard, just invest in the following…

Polishing Cloth - a really good one. Not the little ones that come along with your jewelry purchase, they are worthless. You need an industrial strength polishing cloth, like the kind you would use to clean your silverware or your Grandmother’s antique sterling silver teapot. Sabrina Silver makes a good one and it’s available at Amazon for $6.99. This cloth is large (12” x 15”), and can be used on silver and gold and does a great job. It is double sided with the inside used for removing tarnish and dirt and the outside for polishing when you’re done. You can feel the abrasive material on the inside – that’s the side to use for the first cleaning. As you clean your jewelry, the cloth will turn black. This is not entirely your personal schoovatch coming off, but rather tarnish and oxidation as well. You can continue to use these cloths for a very long time (save your manicure and use rubber gloves while polishing). Do not wash the cloth. When you can’t feel the abrasive any longer it’s time to throw it away and buy a new one.

Dish Soap, Hot Water and Baby Toothbrush – if you have silver, gold, or silver and gold jewelry that has lost its shine because it’s picked up your body oils after a lot of wear, just make a mixture of liquid dish soap (I like Dawn because it cuts grease-even ours) and hot water. Dip your jewelry and let it soak for about 5-10 minutes and then use a soft baby toothbrush to clean in between any grooves. Place your soapy jewelry in a strainer and rinse under hot tap water. Pour the wet jewelry out on a few paper towels to air dry. After it’s dry, use your polishing cloth to finish it off. Your jewelry should sparkle and feel very clean. It’s good to do this a few times if you are wearing your jewelry a lot, especially during the summer. Body oils and creams, perspiration and perfume cling to the metals and form a film. If you wonder why you’re getting zits on the side of your face or on your chest, it’s probably because your earrings or pendants are dirty, so for God’s sake, clean them once in a while.

You can use this method to clean your diamond jewelry as well as your color stones. If your jewelry has a stone that is accessible and you can see the entire thing from the underside of your ring, you can actually use this process to clean it. Just use your little brush to clean under the stone and rinse as usual. Use a Q-tip to dry the underside of the stone. If your ring is closed underneath and you can’t see the stone, you may have to have it professionally refurbished. Check with the store where you purchased your jewelry to see if they provide this service.

Baby Shampoo - You can actually use a very mild shampoo (like baby shampoo) to clean very dirty pearls. Place your pearls in knee high pantyhose if you can find one anywhere (who wears them anymore?) Slowly swish your pearls back and forth through the sudsy water. Swish back and forth in clear water to rinse off the soap and lay them out on a few layers of paper towel to air dry. Check the silk thread used to string your pearls. If you see lots of space between the pearls, you may need to have them re-strung. Ask your local jeweler if they do this or if they can recommend someone who does. Remember to treat your pearls right – they should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off. Wipe them gently with a soft cotton cloth when you take them off each time and they won’t get so gross again. This is another good reason to rip your husband’s underwear off his body– they make the best rags.

FYI - I’m not a big fan of ultra-sonic cleaners in the hands of people that don't know what they can do. Ever since I witnessed an emerald disintegrate in one, I’m afraid of them. There isn’t much you can’t clean with a strong detergent, a mild detergent, hot water and a toothbrush, and this way, you won’t destroy any of your jewelry in the process.

All My Jewelry Was Stolen…What Should I Do Now?

2011-07-24T08:52:00.003-04:00

You arrive home after a nice evening out with friends and you find your backdoor wide open. “Oh my god, did you leave that door open you idiot” you yell at your husband. But as you enter your home, you realize something isn’t right. In your bedroom, you find your bed has been disturbed. What's going on? Where are my pillow cases? Things are thrown about the room and the top drawer of your bureau is on the floor. You slowly realize what has happened…that's where you've always kept your good jewelry - right there in the top drawer, rather than in a locked box or a safe where it should be…and now it’s all gone and you want to throw up.

A theft like this takes less than ten minutes. It’s so quick you wouldn’t believe it if you saw it happen. Backdoor kicked in, run upstairs to bedroom, remove pillow cases, go directly to woman’s bureau and stuff cases with jewelry that is right there (like it always is), run out back door. Jewelry is small, easily transported and easily pawned. It means nothing to the thieves, but when you realize every piece of jewelry you own is gone, including your Grandmother’s wedding ring, you are crushed.

Family heirlooms can never be replaced, but hopefully, your most important pieces were insured so you can start to rebuild your jewelry wardrobe. If you’re lucky enough to have a homeowner’s policy that includes $5,000 in blanket coverage for lost or stolen jewelry, take that money and here’s what you can buy.

You need a good watch. Buy the best you can afford – a Michele Deco is fashionable and won’t break the bank… and you won’t have to use the sun to tell time anymore.

Michele Deco Watch, 16mm New Deco Stainless Steel Bracelet ($250) and Deco 16mm Stainless Steel Watch Head with Diamond Dial ($425). FYI-Michele watches are often sold in two pieces so be sure to price accordingly.

Buy a good pair of gold hoops. I think yellow gold is the classic color to buy. If you have extra money you can purchase a pair of white gold hoops as well, but yellow gold hoops are the classic and where you should make the investment. I still have mine from high school.

Roberto Coin18K Yellow Gold Hoop Earrings, 1 ¼” diameter, $520

Pearl studs are feminine and stand the test of time. Buy Mikimoto if you can and, if you’re over 30, buy at least 7.5- 8mm in size. Anything smaller will look like you have boogers on your ears, especially if you have long hair. They must be at least 8mm to be seen, even if you pull your hair back.

Mikimoto Akoya Pearl Studs, 7.5-8 mm. White or yellow gold, $730

David Yurman Bracelet: It seems everybody has one, but that’s OK, join the cult. You get a lot of look for your money and wearing one tells your friends you’ve arrived. Buy a 7mm Onyx Color Classic Bracelet. And, remember you are an adult…the 7mm size is the middle size…not too big and not too small, and, onyx will go with everything you wear, plus it’s one of the cheapest stones he has available.

David Yurman Onyx 7mm Color Classics Bracelet, $595.

A diamond solitaire pendant is the type of necklace you can wear all the time and never take off (this way you will never lose it). It would look nice with your pearl studs and Michele watch. H, VS2 is excellent quality for a diamond pendant.

Blue Nile .50 ct., H, VS2, diamond solitaire pendant, $2475.

Speaking of insurance... depending on how much jewelry you have, you may want to do the following:

Check your homeowner’s policy to see if you have any coverage for "unscheduled" jewelry that is lost or stolen. Some policies offer minimal coverage ($2,500-5,000) for the loss of unscheduled pieces (not listed and insured individually), and some policies offer nothing. Check yours.

Appraise, schedule and insure your most expensive and sentimental pieces. This is called an insurance rider and you pay extra for it. Big ticket diamond items like your engagement and wedding rings, tennis bracelets, studs, or antique diamond pins, etc….anything that exceeds the minimum coverage your policy provides should be covered separately if you can afford it . Consider listing any other important items where the replacement value is more than you can handle out of pocket, or where you feel the need to be compensated for an appraised amount. Scheduled jewelry is expensive so don’t list (and pay) for anything you can easily replace out of your personal budget.

If insurance is too expensive, buy a good safe and use it. Lowe's has a good, fireproof safe with a digital combination that is easy to use. If possible, have a handyman permanently attach your safe to the closet shelf or floor so thieves cannot simply walk away with it (however, some of these safes are very heavy already and not easy to walk away with). Then, be religious about securing your things when you are not using them. I’ve met many people over the years who learned this lesson the hard way. You can’t believe how careful people become with their new jewelry after they’ve lost all their old jewelry.

Have You Been Vajeweled?

2011-07-20T14:10:00.004-04:00

A vajewelectomy in progress.

If you watch the Real Housewives of New York City, you’ve already met the newest addition to this season: Cindy Barshop (one and done - I understand she may not be returning next year). Cindy’s claim to fame is she owns and operates multiple locations of the “Completely Bare Spa." One of the services they offer is Vajeweled – or, jewelry for your hoo-hah. After you get a complete waxing of your girly parts, for a nominal fee you can add Swarovski "elements" (more like shards) down there in various shapes and designs. Ms. Barshop prides herself on the ultimate waxing experience, including a service for inner AND OUTER buttocks. Thank God girls born with permanent mink thongs have someone to turn to.

Now I'm all for jewelry but I didn't realize I needed to adorn my girlgyna on top of all the landscaping I already do. It 's an established destination point in my house and is highly sought after - so do I need to decorate it as well? And what happens when the hair starts to grow back and some of the sparkles have fallen off...do we maintain the vaginal rejuvenation experience or do we let it turn into one of those skankaroll Halloween decorations that are still hanging around at Thanksgiving...just sayin.

Here are some options:

Do I have to spell it out for you?

I think you know what to do.

Piece.

This one's for the guys.

The Jewelry Catherine Duchess of Cambridge Wore Through The North American Tour

2011-07-17T10:46:00.006-04:00

Catherine and William are back in England now that their North American tour is over. William wants to fly helicopters and Catherine wants to grow herbs and get pregnant. However, she’s going to have to eat a little something because developing embryo's don't do all that well on watercress. At 5' 10", some say Catherine is hovering around the 100-105 pound range. Jewelry doesn't look good on a broomstick.

Kate’s royal tour fashion was nice but I feel a little meh about it because the royal corporation has a lot to say about how she must dress when on these official visits, i.e., British designers, no short skirts, pantyhose is usually a must, discreet hairstyles, and even closed toe shoes most of the time, so – kudos to Kate for going against the grain and wearing those Jimmy Choo, five inch heeled, silver, Housewives of London foot jewelry while in LA.

Although tasteful and demure, the jewelry she wore (some her own – some on loan) was very pretty. She didn’t establish any new trends (other than pantyhose, ugh) so don’t worry...I don't think we'll be wearing maple leaf pins on our shoulders this fall but if we're not careful, there might be a Ruth Buzzi sighting in my neighborhood.

I'm warning you...do not bring pantyhose back. Do I need to say anymore?

Something new, the human fascinator.
No, wait - that's William's hand, Ottawa, 7/01/11.

Really very beautiful - and you know how I feel about pins.

While in Yellowknife, Catherine and William received beautiful gifts of a diamond polar bear pin and diamond polar bear cuff links made with Canadian diamonds, by Northwest Territories Diamonds. It was presented to them by Premier, Floyd Roland to commemorate their Royal tour of the country. Both of the gifts were created with diamonds mined at the Diavik Diamond Mine and donated and designed by Harry Winston. Diamond is the official gemstone of the Northwest Territories and the region produces about 15% of the world’s rough diamonds. Who knew Canada was the world’s third largest diamond producer (in value) after Botswana and Russia. I could almost drive there. Yellowknife, 7/6/2011.

Fashion alert! Let's see if any of the bear jewelry is ever worn.

Kate is a real fan of jewelry designer, Kiki McDonough. A British designer who specializes in pieces made with semi-precious stones with diamonds, Kiki McDonough has been in business for more than 25 years. It only takes a celebrity with the status of Catherine to completely sell out many of the pieces she’s is offering on her website. McDonough’s well priced jewelry features vibrant stones in contrasting color combinations set in 18K gold.

Arriving at a private reception in Los Angeles, California. Kate wears a Roksanda Ilincic Peridot dress. Her earrings are Kiki McDonough Grace Earrings, £695.00 ($1125, US). Of course, they are currently out of stock.

California, 7/8/2011.

If you have a good local jeweler, these earrings are not hard to have made. The white topaz is not an expensive stone and the diamonds are rather small. The stones are approximately 9mm in size and, set if you set them in 14K gold (instead of 18K) you could have these made for much less than $1125.

Kiki McDonough white topaz and diamond earrings.
Here's a closer look in case you want to have them made.

Kate is wearing Kiki McDonough citrine earrings featured in the photo below.
Los Angeles, 7/09/2011.

One of Catherine’s favorite Kiki McDonough earrings.
18K citrine drop earrings. £495.00 (about $800 US). Los Angeles, 7/9/2011.

Hard to see what earring she is wearing. See below...


Cassandra Goad "Temple of Heaven" 9K gold earrings. £1,100, roughly $1750, US. Seems very high for 9K gold. Check out Ippolita below for similar earrings but in 18K.

Ippolita 18K gold Open Oval Cascade Earring. $2095 but 18K gold instead of 9K.

I don't think I would invest that much money in 9K gold!

Catherine in Alexander McQueen and diamond earrings
from the Queen's jewelry box. Los Angeles, 7/10/2011.

A hard to find closeup of the diamond earring loaned by the Queen. It's a posted earring with a bezel-set diamond at the top with three diamond stands, made with baguette and round diamonds attached. Suspended from the center strand is what looks to be quite a large pear shaped diamond. Those LA beeyatches didn't have anything on her.

Almost jewelry. That nice.

Field Trip! Part VII - Personalities at the Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

2011-07-13T17:16:00.001-04:00

I know it’s about time I brought this thing to a close but I've been having so much fun researching, writing and viewing all the beautiful jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels. However, something even more interesting exists...the back stories behind the jewelry, as well as some of the photos where the jewelry is being worn.

For example, did you know Muhammad Ali’s wife, Veronica, is the other woman in the photo above being pushed out of the way? Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994) is wearing her gold VC&A “Wonder Woman” cuffs and hoops (actually they are an early “Perlee” creation) and is doing a pretty good job of arm wrestling Muhammad Ali. Ali's wife, Veronica, is the woman being ignored. Jackie and Ali met in 1977 at the Rainbow Room kicking off festivities for the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in New York.

Most of the time you see this photo…and I always wondered who Jackie was talking to. These cuffs were sold at the infamous 1996 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis estate auction at Sotheby's. With an estimated worth of $1,500-$2,000 at that time (based on a gold price of a little over $400 an ounce, versus around $1500 per ounce today) these cuffs sold for $167,500. You do the math if they were on the auction block right now.

One of the most spectacular pieces in the entire exhibit is the emerald and diamond necklace and earrings that belonged to the Maharani of Baroda. There are many interesting stories about the Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda, (1917-1986), or as she was known, “The Indian Wallis Simpson” (you already know she was probably trouble). Already married to someone else when she met and immediately fell in love with the Maharajah Pratapsinh Gaekwad of Baroda in 1943, she (and the lawyers) concocted a Chinese fire drill of events in order to obtain a divorce from her current husband so she could marry the Maharajah later that same year. She converted to Islam and obtained a divorce under the grounds that she was unable to stay married to her present Hindu husband. After the divorce, she re-converted back to Hinduism and was now free to marry her lover, the Maharajah of Baroda. I'm exhausted just thinking about planning such a thing but hey, you go girl, jewels were at stake and a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.


The Maharani placing the priceless seven strand pearl necklace on the Maharajah. He is having agita after finding out how much these pearls are worth.

One of the only photos of the famous necklace. Circa 1880. All the stones in this necklace are diamonds.

After her marriage, she received gifts of jewels from the Baroda treasury that dated back to Mughal times. These included a magnificent seven-strand natural pearl necklace (see indigestion photo above) and an incomparable three-row diamond necklace (above) that suspended both the Star of the South diamond (cushion cut center top at 128.80 carats) and the English Dresden diamond (pear shaped below at 78.53 carats). She also received many other Indian jewels from her husband and it was from these various jewels that she extracted the emeralds and diamonds used by Van Cleef & Arpels in her 1949 commission to create a most magnificent necklace and earrings. From time to time we have a cheesy remounting events in our store where customers can use old stones in new settings, but so far, nothing has turned out like this.

The “Hindou Necklace” first appeared for sale in Monte Carlo in 1974 where the Maharani had been residing since the 1960's. It remained in private hands until 2002 when the necklace and the earrings were auctioned at Christie’s in Geneva with both pieces selling for $1,647,976.

Completed in 1950, the piece was christened “The Hindou Necklace” by Van Cleef & Arpels. Made in platinum, with thirteen emerald drops (Colombian in origin), weighing approximately 150 carats, they are suspended from a panel of pavé-set diamonds and decorated with carved emeralds. The entire design originated from her Mughal beads. Sita Devi liked to be green in so many ways and was ahead of her time in terms of recycling.

The earrings are comprised of five polished octagonal shaped emeralds and five drop-shaped emeralds with each earring containing a suspended diamond briolette weighing approximately 20 carats. As per a mystical Indian belief, these precious stones set within a circle are meant to gather and radiate cosmic energies to favor the one that they adorn. It would have been cheaper to own Stonehenge.

The Maharani must have been a real hoot at party. In 1953 the Maharani of Baroda sold Harry Winston a pair of anklets, consisting of cabochon emeralds and rose-cut diamonds. Winston used them to create a necklace which the Duke of Windsor bought for the Duchess of Windsor. The Duchess and the Maharani were both present at a ball in 1957, and, observing the necklace on the Duchess, the Maharani remarked rather loudly that the emeralds had looked just as good when she wore them on her feet. The Duchess needed some of those calm-me-down pills and returned the necklace to Winston the next day. Harry Winston promised not to sell the necklace to anyone who might wear it in the Duchess's presence or know this paper bag over the head story. Years later Christina Onassis was turned down when she tried to buy it.

Field Trip! Part VI - Grace Kelly at the Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

2011-07-09T22:35:00.005-04:00

Mystery Set
Sapphire and Diamond earrings
owned by Elizabeth Taylor.

Welcome to Part VI, Personalities. This should be the last segment of our look at the Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, but there are so many interesting stories I may have to stretch it out to one or two more. "Personalities" is the segment everyone loves the most because it looks at famous individuals who owned and wore some of the most beautiful jewelry ever made. But as Elizabeth Taylor once said, "I’m fortunate to have some very important pieces of jewelry. I don’t believe I own any of the pieces. I believe that I am their custodian, here to enjoy them, to give them the best treatment in the world, to watch after their safety, and to love them.” She also wrote, "Sometimes I wonder what will become of everything, because just like the Duchess of Windsor’s collection, they will all be up for auction one day. They will be scattered to the four corners of the world, and I hope that whoever buys each piece loves it as much as I do and takes care of it and realizes that having jewelry is a temporary gift. In truth, we ‘owners’ are just the caretakers… Nobody ever owns anything this beautiful. We are only the guardians.”

This is so true. It's a testament to how pearls, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and other stones found naturally in the earth and sea, and the jewelry made from them, stand the test of time and live on, much longer than those who have temporary custody of them. Stones can be re-fashioned, re-cut, re-set, even re-turned so they can live on for others to enjoy.

While researching the personalities and their jewelry for this blog, I spent hours looking for videos and photographs of not only famous people and their VC&A jewelry, but the famous people wearing their famous VC&A jewelry. I got lost while viewing You Tube videos (actual home movies in most cases) as if they were photos of my own children or family pictures from when I was a little girl. The pictures and videos took me back to a nostalgic time when things were easier and life was better...or so it seemed, anyway. We are drawn to celebrities because their fantasy lives take us away from our mundane existence, and the way we read about them and follow their lives, we feel we know them well. We have opinions about their spouses, children, clothes and more, and even grieve when they pass away - just like they were a member of our own families.

Grace Kelly was one of those people. Born and raised in Philadelphia, my home town as well, the Kelly family almost felt like one of the neighbors. A trip to downtown Philadelphia with my father always included a "Kelly Mansion" drive-by. In reality, the "Kelly Mansion" is much smaller than I remembered as a little girl, given the size of the mac-mansions that exist in suburban neighborhoods today. Kelly, became a devoted VC&A client, but not until she married Prince Ranier III in 1956. After their marriage, Ranier made VC&A the official jeweler of the Royal Family of Monaco.

Grace Kelly, wearing the wedding ensemble of naturally found pearls fashioned by Van Cleef & Arpels into a necklace, bracelet, earrings and ring. If you remember my June pearl post, naturally found pearls, as opposed to cultured pearls, are extremely rare. Cultured pearls started to replace natural pearls in jewelry starting in the late 1800's when Mikimoto perfected the cultured pearl process. Prince Ranier III gave these pearls to Grace Kelly in 1956, the year they were married. This suite is extremely valuable due to the size of the pearls used, as well as the number of pearls needed, in order to make a triple strand necklace and double strand bracelet...all made with perfectly matching natural pearls in size, color and luster.

Grace Kelly temporarily owned
one of the most beautiful tiaras ever to sit on a head.

Today this tiara is in Van Cleef & Arpels’ Private Collection.

Princess Grace wore this diamond tiara only once, at the pre-wedding ball honoring her daughter Caroline and Philippe Junot in 1978. It was made in platinum, set with pear-shaped diamonds, marquise-shaped diamonds and round diamonds, and weighed 77.34 carats. That is a very heavy thing to wear on your head. It is rumored she immediately resold the piece back to VC&A after the wedding. I had no idea Grace churned jewelry...especially to VC&A. I get hysterical thinking of Grace Kelly, the day after a big event, appearing sheepishly at the counter of VC&A, with a bag holding the tiara and the receipt, making up a story and trying to convince the salesperson why the tiara didn't work out. Buying jewelry to wear to an event (usually to impress friends) is an annoying but common practice among some customers. We know when customers are doing it but can't really stop them, however, we do fantasize about the piece getting lost or stolen...just to teach them a lesson.

Daisy Fellows
platinum, diamond and emerald
manchettes,
hooked together as a necklace.
Paris, France, 1926

Please take time to view this You Tube video. Entertainment Tonight - 70's Style! Sorry that it is another one in French but bear with it until 2:15 when you will see footage of Caroline's pre-wedding ball. Grace invited many celebrities from her day including Ava Gardner, who has so much jewelry in her hair she looks like a Christmas tree, and Gregory Peck, looking awkward doing the Robot, then swinging Ava back and forth obviously trying to shake the jewelry out of her head. Velma Dinkley from Scooby Doo and her mother eye up Cary Grant in a very weird way, and, at 3:56, a woman wearing what could possibly be Daisy Fellows' diamond and emerald manchettes worn together as a necklace, followed by a woman in red wearing another amazing diamond necklace. But the pièce de résistance is toward the end of the film where you will see Grace Kelly, gloriously celebrating her daughter's upcoming wedding, and looking beautiful wearing her diamond tiara, sparkling like her head was on fire.

Van Cleef and Arpels “Transforms” the Royals in Monaco

2011-07-06T11:55:00.006-04:00

Océan as a formal necklace.

VC&A continues their tradition with the royal family of Monaco with the commission by His Serene Highness, Prince Albert, and Her Serene Highness, Princess Charlene, to create a set of jewelry on the occasion of their marriage in Monaco on July 2, 2011.

The diamond and sapphire necklace, named "Océan" by Prince Albert, was described as a “love pledge," although according to recent reports it might be more like a bribe to get Charlene to stay in Monaco for a while. And, in keeping with the VC&A tradition of “transformation," the piece can be transformed multiple ways: into a less formal necklace, a tiara, and, as you will see in the video below, when the components are snapped out, they could possibly be turned into earrings or a pendant (or sold off individually as Wittstock secretly makes her way back to South Africa). A sparkler made with 1,200 diamonds and sapphires, VC&A had their stone searchers look for three different hues of perfectly matching blue sapphires that were used to represent the colors found in the ocean. The piece is topped off with a centered 4 carat pear shaped, D - Flawless diamond that would appear at the bottom when worn as a necklace or the top if worn as a tiara.

Less formal necklace.

Formal tiara

See how the Océan was made

The relationship between Van Cleef & Arpels and the Royal Family of Monaco dates back to 1956, the year that Prince Rainier III married Grace Kelly, and Van Cleef & Arpels became the “Official Supplier of the Principality” (which means Grace did not shop at the mall for her jewelry).

Prince Albert chose Repossi for Wittstock’s pear-cut diamond engagement ring. Rumor has it that Prince Albert called Repossi and asked them to send “something” when they got engaged. He never actually “pulled out the chair” and chose the ring himself. How lazy can you be. It was also rumored that Wittstock was not a jewelry affectioniado and felt the ring was ostentatious and preferred something smaller. FYI - the idea of a surprise engagement ring always scares me. It pays to work together when searching for something this expensive and personal.

Repossi 3 carat pear shaped diamond engagement ring reported to be worth approximately $100,000.
Does this prove Kim Kardashian is truly royal with her 20 carat ring worth $2,000,000?

They chose Cartier for their plain, platinum wedding bands.

Wittstock wore little jewelry on her wedding day...only a huge diamond hair scrunchy.

It turns out Wittstock may have better taste in jewelry than all the royals combined. She may not be the type to dig tiaras out of Grace's jewelry box or wear dusty old brooches from the 16th century. Wittstock commissioned renowned French jeweler, Lorenz Baümer to create a new version of a tiara with a design based on the movement of water. Her past as an Olympic swimmer may have influenced what looks like a splash of water with droplets on the end.

Above: Lorenz Baümer's new kind of tiara. Made in white gold, the frame is set with 11 pear-cut diamonds, the largest weighing eight carats.

Above: Even though this video is in French, you can easily make out how Lorenz Baümer
designed and created this beautiful piece.

Princess Charlene wearing Baumer hairspray at her wedding reception. This kind of hairspray is not available at the drugstore.

Field Trip! Part V - Exoticism at the Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

2011-07-04T10:05:00.002-04:00

Van Cleef & Arpels in New York.
744 5th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Part V – Exoticism at Set in Style at the Cooper Hewitt, blah, blah,blah. We are almost done with this exhibit – one more to come after this. This post is a little late because #1, The Duchess of Cambridge wore a yellow gold charm bracelet and #2, my sister and I went back to revisit this exhibit one more time before it closes on July 4th. For those of you who didn't have a chance to see this exhibit, I hope you will enjoy these blog posts.

Dazzled by the beautiful stones during my first visit, I was much more critical the second time around, noticing age and wear on some of the jewelry, as well as a few mismatched stones. The exhibit is still drawing a big crowd, including the obnoxious people all around me who were taking way too much time hovering over one item and clogging up the flow of traffic. As a result, people were stomping their hooves and crowding all around my sister and me, like when you are checking out at the food store and the next person moves right up into your personal space where you should be in order to pay the cashier. People please..... can you keep your coffee breath to yourselves and floss before you leave your caves.

The Exotics in the VC&A collection are just that - jewelry inspired by travels to the foreign and exotic lands that weren’t on the Average Joe's radar back in the 1920’s. Some of the VC&A vision came from the Arpels' travels all over the world responding to commission requests from wealthy moguls, which in turn, expanded their global clientele even more. Due to this growing international clientele, these exotic influences in design became a solid part of the VC&A aesthetic.

Platinum and diamond Cambodian bracelet. 1938

VC&A had many wealthy Americans as clients as well. One of their first commissions was made by Eugene Higgins (1860-1948) heir to his father, Elias's, New York City carpet manufacturing fortune. A wealthy and handsome bachelor, Higgins sold the family business in 1889 shortly after taking control of it and spent the fortune on a leisurely lifestyle, i.e., he partied all the time. In 1908, Higgins asked VC&A to make a replica of his yacht, the 304’ Varuna. They complied with a duplicate Varuna sitting on top of a sea of smooth, carved jasper. A white enamel life preserver floats on top of the jasper and when pushed, rang Higgins’ butler for duty. Unfortunately for Higgins, calling the butler didn’t help in late in 1909 when the real Varuna was wrecked off the coast of Madeira. Higgins lost a crew member and the ship. Party over.


This is all he had left. He played with it in the tub.

VC&A‘s jet-setting clientele encouraged them to design jewelry with "foreign" themes. They created pieces which imitated the traditional style of these faraway lands using the materials that suggested those influences such as the use of lacquer and jade for a Japanese or Chinese creation.

Sometimes they adopted exotic motifs for other pieces, as in the gorgeous bracelet below, reflective of the Egyptomania inspired by the excavation of King Tut's tomb in the early 1920s.

Can you believe this.....


Inspired this! The Egyptian Bracelet.

The Duchess of Cambridge's New Charm Bracelet

2011-06-30T16:28:00.001-04:00

Kate wearing her new bracelet and
the dress that sold out in minutes.

We are taking a break from Van Cleef and Arpels for just a moment to report on a new piece of jewelry seen on the arm of The Duchess of Cambridge, aka, Kate Middleton. You probably owned a piece like this at one time but felt it was a little outdated and may have recently "sold it for gold" to make a little extra cash. So who but the world's current fashion icon is seen wearing a very traditional yellow gold charm bracelet with an initial disc hanging from it? Reports say it was a wedding gift from mother-in-law, Camillia, who wears a similar bracelet on her wrist.

No matter how hard Italian jewelry designers like Roberto Coin and Marco Bicego are working to return the trend to yellow gold, white gold has remained a strong trend for the last 15-20 years. As a matter of fact, most of the gold that's being sold for cash these days is the yellow gold we all have laying, unworn, in the bottom of our jewelry boxes.

Kate has the fashion power to turn the trend back to yellow gold.

That's a lot of "C"'s, standing for Catherine, Cambridge, Camilla.
What other "C" words could go on Camilla's bracelet?
The disc charm has Catherine's monogram on one side and Camilla's on the other.
Both "C"'s are under a coronet but Kate's "C" has an extra curl while Camilla's is surrounded by a circle.


Not to be outdone by Diana's stunning sapphire and diamond engagement ring, Camilla takes possession of Kate's other arm with a replica of her own charm bracelet.

I had to post this photo because I just love his coat.
Prince William: wearing a better outfit than the Duchess.

Field Trip! Part IV - Fashion at the Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

2011-06-23T17:56:00.001-04:00

Open Minaudiere. 1935

In Part IV of Set in Style, the Van Cleef & Arpels exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, we bring you Fashion.

As the story goes … in 1930, Charles Arpels was having dinner with friends, among them, Florence Jay Gould, wife of a philanthropist, when he noticed the tin box she took out of her purse that held her lipstick (some say it was a metal Lucky Strike cigarette box). He was surprised that such a glamorous woman didn’t have a more luxurious container for her cosmetics, and, right there at the dinner table, the clever, ornate and utilitarian Minaudiere was born.

“Minaudières” by Van Cleef & Arpels from “The Spirit of Beauty” exhibition from Van Cleef & Arpels inspirations on Vimeo.

Taking inspiration from the smaller Nécessaire, Arpels decided it should hold everything (MacGyver style) that a fashionable woman could possibly need for a night out on the town. It was an engineering wonder that contained fitted, hinged compartments which held lipstick, cigarettes, compact, watch, hankies, etc., and, when open, resembled a bejewelled piece of camping equipment. Women looked so chic pulling a cigarette out of their Minaudiere's, however, the less dexterous may have needed help closing all those little lids because it looks like you could cut a finger off if you were in a hurry.


Now this is my idea of a Kindle cover. Black lacquer, gold and diamonds.

She came a long way from the tin box.
Pearl and diamond Nécessaire once owned by Florence Jay Gould.

Do you think this fits the IPhone?
Ruby, emerald, sapphire, diamond, jade and gold Nécessaire, 1926.

An 18^th century version of the Minaudiere, The Nécessaire was smaller and only held a few personal items like sewing needles and small scissors. My...how far we've come. Just think of Minaudiere and Nécessaire as French words for "make-up bag." Women still refresh their make-up at the dinner table, although with today's manners, it's not unusual to see a woman throw a piece of Samsonite up on the dinner table and do a full makeup – 10X magnified mirror and all. Gone are the glamour days of just carrying your essentials on a night out. We carry so much stuff in today's gigantor handbags that a girl needs a cortisone shot in her shoulders from time to time just to carry her Marc Jacobs around town.

But you would be wrong if you thought the diminutive Minaudiere was a complete thing of the past. Judith Leiber, one of the longest sustaining luxury handbag designers, continues to produce some of the finest Minaudiere's you can find. Emigrating to the United States with her husband in 1947, Ms. Leiber honed her skills by working for some of the leading handbag manufacturers in New York. Starting her own company in 1963, her unique, intricate marvels were a cut above the rest. Made from the finest Austrian crystals and, in some cases, semi-precious stones, they are not cheap. Not only have her bags been found on the arm of most of our first ladies since the 1950's, and some of Hollywood's most famous women, but you can also find them as part of permanent collections in London, New York, Washington, DC, Houston and Los Angeles. Here are some of the more hysterical - I mean unique ones....


Habibi Minaudiere. $5995-This party is so boring I'm going to rub the side of this bag and when the genie comes out, I'm going to wish I was somewhere else.


Panda Minaudiere. $4695 - For those of you who have ever been addicted to a Panda Cam, now you can just sit this thing on top of your computer.

Beehive Minaudiere. $5600 - Are Pooh and Piglet available as key fobs?

Field Trip! Part III - Nature at the Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

2011-06-22T10:54:00.005-04:00

Believe it or not, this is a Van Cleef & Arpels brooch.
Would you wear it?

Welcome to Nature, Part III of Set in Style, the Van Cleef & Arpels exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Many of the pieces in this category were brooches and, no offense, brooches (or pins) are probably the most boring piece of jewelry one can own. Even the word brooch sounds old, like it should come in a mothball can.

I think brooches are boring.
Unless we're talking about one of VC&A's Set in Style treasures,
then that's a different story.

Every now and then, a client will come to my counter (usually an older person) to ask if we have any brooches. When we say we don’t have any in stock, this person often looks at us like we are dumb as rocks for missing the biggest selling opportunity to ever come along. Sometimes, this person will continue to give me an attitude, at which I say things like, “gee, I haven’t even seen a brooch in the past 30 years.” (Like, hello, go back to your coffin - it's almost daylight).

Therefore, if you are a younger person, most likely you don’t own a brooch since they haven’t been in style for a really long time. You might have one or two lying in the bottom of your jewelry box like I do, but you don’t wear them because you have so many other cool things that you wear all the time, however, there are those women who still wear them (corporate world, attorneys, etc) because of the way they can finish their look.

I think pins look best on suits, but women just don’t wear that many suits anymore. Today, women tend to show a Iot more skin, and it’s hard to pin a pin on skin. I really haven't seen pins since the Alexis Carrington Dynasty days of the 80's when suits were structured and had runway sized shoulder pads. Pins actually soften the look of a suit, and that’s why women like Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright look good in pins because they can be somewhat cardboard in appearance when conducting business. However, take a look at Hillary Clinton at her daughter Chelsea's wedding last year. I thought she looked her best in her silky, turquoise caftan (rather than as we usually see her).

Looking more like wood.

Flowing and looking less like wood.

Someone who really knows how to wear a pin is Madeleine Albright. She used pins to set a tone for important meetings during her tenure as Ambassador to the United Nations and as Secretary of State. She, as many women do, used jewelry to commemorate an event or indicate how she felt. She did this through pins, and she did it well. She wore an antique snake pin when she met with Saddam Hussein, and a “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” monkey pin when she met with Vladimir Putin to indicate her position on the Chechen atrocities. Putin told President Clinton he could tell how a meeting with Albright might go depending on her pin.

This was an imaginative and creative use of jewelry, and her book, Read My Pins, tells us the thought process behind the pins she chose to wear depending upon whom she was meeting. Think about a woman as busy as Albright. Not only did she have to do her hair and get dressed in the morning, she also had to pick out the right pin. I will never complain again about getting ready for work in the morning because one thing I don't have to do is coordinate my jewelry with history.


You go girl....I think she's pissed because she wasn't allowed to go down in that hole and pull Saddam out!

But I digress. The brooches inspired by nature in the VC&A exhibit are magnificent. The platinum and diamond “Orchid” brooch (1928), the gold and diamond “Snowflake” brooch (1948), the diamond and pearl “Bunch of Grapes” brooch (1915), the diamond and emerald (or sapphire or ruby) “Sycamore Leaf” brooch (1951), and my personal favorite, the enormous and completely ridiculous “Scarlet Macaw” brooch (1995). Made from diamonds, rubies and sapphires, the beak is made from coral and onyx. This brooch, as other VC&A brooches, is really big. Of course, that means more precious stones, which equals more expensive, but that’s what VC&A’s is all about. I just get a fit of hysterics when I think of someone wearing this pin on her shoulder. ARG!

My orchids always die. I would take better care of this one.


What a shame you can you only wear this in winter.

The Grapes of Want.

I would have no problem raking these leaves if they fell in my yard.

Must be worn on the shoulder while on a wooden ship.

Field Trip! Part II - Innovation at the Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

2011-06-19T21:59:00.002-04:00

Today we are taking a look at another category of jewelry from the Set in Style, The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Today’s subject is “Innovation,” and who better to analyze than an original famewhore, the Duchess of Windsor and the “Zip” necklace. Around 1939, the Duchess collaborated with Renee Puissant, the artistic director of VC&A, and asked the renowned jeweler to create a platinum and diamond zipper for one of her evening dresses. Zippers were relatively new at the time, but even for someone as ostentatious as she, a platinum and diamond zipper for a dress was a little over the top. Can you imagine having the kind of downtime that allows you to come up with such an idea?

Never mind the scarcity of platinum during this time. Keep in mind that even today, compared to silver and gold, there is relatively little platinum available. Per the Platinum Guild, “Platinum is 30 times more rare than gold. If platinum mining ceased today, the available supply would be exhausted in two years, compared to a quarter of a century for gold," so you can imagine how rare the metal was in the 1930s. The Guild further states, “With the outbreak of war in 1939, platinum is declared a strategic metal in the USA, used for the manufacture of armaments. Its use for making jewelry is forbidden.” (But Wallis whined, "I need that zipper - buttons are so hard to do!"). So while it was a very creative notion on the part of the Duchess to use one of those newfangled zipper things as a jewelry idea, her self-focused sense of timing was terrible.

Another bad idea. We should not be making these PR decisions on our own anymore.

Although the zip was never actually sewn into her dress, VC&A achieved the first zip necklace around 1940 with two gold ribbons and small diamond set hooks on each side that slide into each other. It can be worn open as a necklace or zipped up and wrapped around your wrist and worn like a bracelet. In the image below, the back actually unclasps from the top of the necklace to form a bracelet.


Innovation. Van Cleef & Arpels Zip Necklace. It took a full 10 years to perfect the design technique, and by 1951 it was fully developed and the “Zip” necklace was born. The Iconic Zip Necklace continues to be a formidable part of the VC&A collections.


Eve Best as Wallis Simpson in "The Kings Speech" wore a number of authentic Van Cleef & Arpels pieces in the film.

Some say the Duchess is famous for the quote, “You can never be too rich or too thin.” Well, she was rich and she was thin, and by 1950's, her cigarette induced, osteoporitic, wizzened frame was very fashionable. Today, when I see someone like that, I'm already doing calculations in my head about how long they have to live.


Living the life of luxury can be hard on a girl. Photo: Richard Avedon.